LAST UPDATE | 13 Sep 2023
RYAN TUBRIDY AND RTÉ are in “dispute” over his contract at the broadcaster, the director general said today during the Oireachtas Media Committee.
Director General Kevin Bakhurst told the committee that legal correspondence had been exchanged between the two sides and that it was RTÉ’s position that it did not owe any money to its former top presenter.
“I think it’s fair to say there’s dispute over the contract,” he told the committee.
Bakhurst, appearing before the Oireachtas committee for the first time today, also said there was no plan agreed for Tubridy to repay €150,000 he was paid in advance by the broadcaster for future personal appearances with a commercial partner.
When Tubridy appeared before Oireachtas members earlier in the summer he indicated a willingness to pay the money back if the personal appearance events did not materialise.
Talks between Bakhurst and Tubridy about his potential return to the RTÉ airwaves broke down in August.
Bakhurst was today asked whether a payment plan was in place for the €150,000.
“The answer is no,” he replied.
I asked him about that money. I said in the previous committee I appeared in that I thought (while) we don’t have a legal mechanism to get it back, because it was agreed by RTÉ, but I think there’s a moral case there.
“I asked him about it. It was in your documents (sent by RTÉ to the media committee’s members) that it was part of the proposed deal if he came back that he was agreeing, if he came back, to repay that money.”
Bakhurst added: “We have no legal tools to pursue him. I’ve said what I have to say about it, which is I think it’s a moral case to pay it back, but I also understand that as a result of where negotiations went Ryan doesn’t have a source of income at the moment.”
Earlier today, Bakhurst told employees in an email that RTÉ is introducing a recruitment freeze and spending cutbacks amid ongoing concerns about the State broadcaster’s financial situation.
Bakhurst, who assumed the role eight weeks ago, said he is “stopping all discretionary spend to preserve cash whilst we get clarity on our financial position in going forward”.
The statement to staff continues: “I regret having to do this as it will impact on our coverage and on our investment in equipment and our digital plans.
“However, given the steep fall in the licence fee and the uncertainty over interim funding, it is the only responsible thing that we can do.
“I hope we will have more clarity over interim funding in the coming days and weeks and of course I will update you in more detail when I can.”
Bakhurst confirmed the news ahead of an appearance by him and other senior RTÉ officials at the Oireachtas Media Committee this afternoon.
During his opening statement, Bakhurst told the committee that the recent payment controversy “precipitated the most devastating blows to the reputation of the organisation in its almost 100-year history”.
The new DG said he has “moved decisively and quickly” to address “clear procedural and oversight failings within the organisation”.
‘Future of public media in jeopardy’
Bakhurst noted moves such as a review of exit packages for staff, a register of interests and activities as well as a new staff consultation body.
It was confirmed last week that the national broadcaster is seeking an additional €34.5 million from the government to plug a hole in its finances.
The refusal of people to pay for TV licences has hit the already cash-strapped organisation, with a licence fee deficit of €21 million expected this year.
The broadcaster has predicted an overall deficit of €28 million for 2023.
Addressing the financial concerns, Bakhurst today told TDs and senators that the funding model must be or else the future of public media in Ireland is in jeopardy.
“The current crisis has made the problem even more acute, and jeopardises the future of public media, and RTÉ, and the viability of Ireland’s audio-visual sector,” he said.
This is a critical moment for public service media in this country. From the original radio broadcast in 1926 to now, RTE has been working to give voice to Ireland, to share our nationhood, to bring the moments and the issues that matter to the country.
“We have a choice: we can work together to reform and reshape RTÉ for the next 100 years, or we can accept its failure and demise. The latter is something that I, and I believe you, cannot accept.”
Earlier today Media Committee chairperson Niamh Smyth said RTÉ shouldn’t get any extra funding from the government until the State broadcaster provides full transparency about its finances.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Smyth said “not one red cent” in additional funding should be given to RTÉ until all outstanding questions are answered.
Chair of the non-executive RTÉ Board Siún Ní Raghallaigh is also addressing committee members today and, in her opening statement, described the recent revelations as “unseemly and highly damaging”.
Ní Raghallaigh echoed Bakhurst’s fears for the future of the organisation, saying that “a secure future for RTÉ is by no means guaranteed”.
“As part of an overall reform plan, choices must be made in relation to interim funding and long-awaited licence fee reform. The current system is a legacy of a different era; obsolete, redundant, antiquated,” she stated.
The Director General and his team will soon complete a Strategic Review of the organisation. I expect that the Review would then shape what will be a costed Restructuring Plan.
“As part of that, hard decisions must be made in order to achieve a fit for purpose public service broadcaster These decisions may not be popular with stakeholders and policy makers, including perhaps this Committee.”
Bakhurst insisted RTÉ is not on the verge of bankruptcy, but acknowledged the organisation is facing an “extremely challenging financial situation”.
“We are having to manage our cash extremely carefully but we’re not on the verge of bankruptcy and I wouldn’t be able to run the organisation under my statutory responsibilities if I thought we were, and we’re not,” he told the committee.
Nearly all of the RTÉ’s board members are attending the committee meeting today, including Bakhurst, Ní Raghallaigh, Acting Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch, Director of Legal Affairs Paula Mullooly, Director of Human Resources Eimear Cusack and Group Financial Controller Mike Fives.
Selling Montrose site
OPW Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan yesterday said the broadcaster should consider selling its Montrose site in Donnybrook in Dublin 4 if it needs money.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One yesterday, O’Donovan said selling the asset could yield upwards of €300 million.
“If Virgin Media can broadcast out of an industrial estate in Ballymount, it begs the question why are RTÉ broadcasting out of one of the most lucrative sites in western Europe,” the junior minister said.
He added that RTÉ has “some neck” asking the government for more money after recent scandals including controversy over Ryan Tubridy’s pay. The presenter’s salary was under-reported by €120,000 between 2017 and 2019 – a situation that ultimately resulted in him leaving the broadcaster.
Bakhurst was today asked if the broadcaster would consider selling the Montrose site.
In response, the DG told the committee “all options” are on the table, including the full or partial sale of the site. He added that RTÉ is in the process of having the estimated price of the site evaluated.
When later pressed again on the potential sale on the Montrose site, Bakhurst said he was considering moving more staff out of Dublin.
“I would say that the location of everything is under consideration in terms of the strategy, but one of the things we are focusing on is about moving more staff and production out of Dublin,” he said.
Bakhurst also expressed concern that the broadcaster had paid for membership of an exclusive private members’ club in London, Soho House.
He was challenged by Sinn Féin committee member Imelda Munster that the club was used by RTÉ more for accommodation than for holding meetings, which was the stated justification for taking the membership.
“I would say that I find it shocking in the first place that we had that membership, to be honest with you,” Bakhurst replied.
He later added: “I don’t start to understand some of these decisions that were made, to be honest with you.”
Top 100 earners
In a previous appearance by RTÉ officials before the committee, Oireachtas members requested a list of the top 100 earners as well as their salaries.
The broadcaster’s representatives had at the time indicated they were willing to supply this information. However, these details were not included in a tranche of 178 documents sent to committee members yesterday.
In a note to members of the committee, RTÉ said it had not questioned employees over whether they were prepared to have their names released, citing GDPR reasons.
“It remains inappropriate to ask staff for permission to release their names alongside their salaries,” the note reads.
RTÉ said it “doubts that the collection of permissions and/or publication of details could be conducted in accordance with the GDPR”.
The documents contain details on a number of financial and personnel matters at RTÉ, including the fact that 61 people received a car allowance last year costing a total of €656,651.
When asked at the committee why some RTÉ managers receive a car allowance without them needing to have a driving licence, Bakhurst said the payment was not correctly named.
He said the allowances were not related to cars and should instead be called “management allowances”.
Bakhurst said he was not sure why they were called car allowances when they were introduced in the 1980s.
“They are management allowances, that’s what they should be called in my view, or they should be part of salaries that we declare, full stop,” he added.
Contains reporting from Press Association
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