THERE WAS A buzz around Leinster House like no other yesterday. No Oireachtas committee hearing in history has ever conjured up such excitement among politicians, and to be fair, the public.
There was only one show in town, the appearance of presenter Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly before the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Though coincidentally, or not, the government was also launching its housing progress report at the same time. Interesting timing to say the least.
Photographers and TV cameras stood outside the gates in the morning and were also along the side of the National Library, poking their cameras through the railings, eager to get a good shot of the TV presenter.
The humour hasn’t been lost in this whole debacle, with one recruitment agency taking the opportunity to park a truck across the road from Leinster House, with a sign saying ‘Hey Ryan, it’s never too Late Late to look for a new job’.
Pubs around the capital also showed the hearings on big screens. There’s no denying it, one way or the other, there was a big public interest in the proceedings.
Tubridy arrived first, giving the waiting paps what they needed, posing for a photo.
Arriving 25 minutes before proceedings began, Ryan was met by the Leinster House ushers and the Captain of the House at the entrance of Kildare Street, before being led through the car park at the front of Leinster House.
Walking up the steps, Tubridy turned around once again, looking back towards the cameras. Giving the photographers what they wanted.
Kelly arrived after Tubridy, and as is the case with the busy summer season, he was immediately caught in a security queue behind one of the many visiting tours to the national parliament.
While in LH2000, the building on the complex which houses the committee rooms, Tubridy was stopped and greeted by a number of people who were keen to meet the man at the centre of the RTÉ controversy for the last three weeks.
Senator Fiona O’Loughlin stopped for a moment on the stairs, speaking to the TV presenter briefly. Tubridy was also asked by one person how he was holding up, with them replying ‘you’re still alive anyway’.
Having arrived a little too early, Tubridy sat at the cafe, seated alongside his agent and two lawyers. He would return to the cafe for a coffee in between committee meetings, stopping to chat to people and asking what they worked as.
There was silence in the committee room before Tubridy began by listing out the seven untruths he claimed had been uttered by RTÉ in recent weeks.
Thumping the table, Tubridy told the committee members he understood the anger that was being felt among his RTÉ colleagues.
He said he was “particularly upset and disappointed” about the “decision and framing” of the RTÉ statement on 22 June which he said “inextricably linked” his name to “this whole fiasco”.
Tubridy closed his opening statement by thanking the “many people from across the country who have taken time to stop me on the street or send me cards or messages of support these past few weeks”.
The committee was told he had a stack of letters from listeners in support of him, and he thanked An Post for getting the letters addressed to ‘Ryan Tubridy, Dublin’ to his door.
He said he hoped he would be able to return to the job he loves. Cynics would say that the speech was worthy of an Oscar, while others might believe Tubridy was speaking from the heart. Make up your own mind on that one.
But rarely has there been an opening statement delivered to the committee in such a manner, with some politicians later saying privately that they found it somewhat rehearsed.
In fact, some members had difficulty in concealing their smiles at the emotion being displayed at the committee, with Labour’s Alan Kelly looking clearly exasperated as Tubridy concluded his statement.
While the expectation prior this committee appearance was that Tubridy would have to act contrite if he was to make his way through the hearings, instead Tubridy and his agent came in fighting.
Tubridy later told another committee, the Oireachtas Media Committee, where he appeared in the afternoon, that he had a right to defend himself.
The narrative put forward by the two men was that this mess was RTÉ’s doing. Nothing to do with Tubridy.
It was claimed that he and Kelly had “no knowledge whatsoever” of the arrangements made between RTÉ and Renault, in terms of who was paying the €75,000 in the last two years.
Tubridy stated later in the afternoon that it had struck him as being “unorthodox”, the arrangement made for RTÉ to underwrite and ultimately stump up for the payment.
Throughout the hearing in the morning, Tubridy shook his head in disgust as Kelly outlined that the RTE management were fully informed of the Renault deal and what it entailed.
Kelly said he had to turn away from the evidence given by RTÉ executives last week such were the “untruths” being spoken.
Tubridy said he left much of his business dealings to his agent, telling members:
I say to Noel, you do your job, I do mine.
Ryan said he had been “dragged into a mess not of his making” and tried to appeal to the human side of the committee members, stating that as public representatives, they must know what it feels like.
I don’t know if any of you’ve been cancelled before, but let me tell you, you don’t want to be there.
Tubridy said his name had been “sullied” and he was “deeply upset” about the last three weeks. He said it was “hard to leave the house” adding he was not looking for sympathy.
“What has happened in the last three weeks has been a frenzy, it’s been mad. This has been the worst of times,” he said, adding that it is important to remember that people have families.
There were many cringeworthy moments. That is the only way to describe them.
Such as when Fianna Fáil’s Cormac Devlin said there are “kids who are wondering why the Toyman is in the news so much?”
Tubridy replied that his “relationship with the children of Ireland is so important to me”.
Then there was when Marc Ó Cathasaigh noted that 79% of people listen to radio daily in Ireland, and noted that his household also tuned into Tubridy’s radio show.
Minutes later, Tubridy raised his hand to interrupt proceedings and thanked TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh for listening to his radio show.
Ó Cathasaigh clarified that it’s his “missus” who listens.
There was also the exchange between PAC chairperson Brian Stanley and Kelly, when the agent was asked what he sold when he worked in Cadburys a number of years ago.
“Chocolate,” he replied. The room erupted in laughter at the light relief.
Aside from the memorable and downright odd moments to ever take place in Committee Room 1 and 4 yesterday, the big question is, aside from whether this will ultimately bring about reform of the public broadcaster, is whether Tubridy has done enough to restore his public image and the trust of his listeners.
Opinion polls have shown that the public don’t see Tubridy as the guilty party in this scandal. But while some took to RTÉ’s Liveline to defend the presenter, there were also critics.
Perhaps a telling note is that during a break in the Media Committee, Tubridy posed for pictures with a group of kids who were on a tour of Leinster House.
When leaving the premises after a gruelling six hour stint answering questions, a staff member stopped Tubridy in the car park and asked if he could have a photo with the presenter.
Upon trying to exit the Leinster House complex at the Merrion Road side, Tubridy and his agent obliged photographers by posing for more photos.
However, he quickly turned back when a member of the public shouted: “When are you going to hand back the money, Ryan? People don’t pay their TV licence and are brought to court.”
Such is the differing takes on this whole charade.
Tubridy concluded his contributions by stating that he wants to return to work, stating that there is a “new world order” at RTÉ with a new director general in place.
“I hope to be part of the catharsis,” he said.
But will he be a part of this new world order?
That’s the next big question.
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