Ryan Tubridy has welcomed the findings from the second report conducted by Grant Thornton, following its publication by the RTÉ Board on Wednesday.
The Report was commissioned by the Audit and Risk Committee to examine issues surrounding the public disclosure of earnings by Mr. Ryan Tubridy between the period of 2017 and 2019.
The Report confirms that 2017-2019 earning figures for Mr. Tubridy were publicly understated due to adjustments made by RTÉ’s financial department. It also made clear that neither Mr. Tubridy nor NK Management had any involvement in the adjustments for the period 2017 – 2019.
The Report confirms that while the earnings were publicly understated, there was no impact on RTÉ’s financial statements as a result of these adjustments.
The suggested hypothesis within the Report is that on the balance of probabilities, adjustments were made for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019 in order to allow for ‘revised earnings’ below a figure of €500,000 in each year. It also states that former Director General Dee Fores did not participates due to “medical reasons”, while Jim Jennings, Director of Content for RTÉ also did not participate in the review.
NK Management, Ryan Tubridy’s agent, also welcomed the findings, adding that the agency had brought its concerns about the proposed accounting treatment of the earnings in question to the attention of RTÉ in advance of their publication.
The Report highlighted poor governance including significant deficiencies in internal management controls, failures in the finance function, and a lack of communication from the Executive to the Board.
Speaking about the finds, RTÉ Chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh stated: “Regrettably this Report confirms our view of the siloed management culture that has prevailed in RTÉ and supports the decision by the Board to initiate an ongoing programme of corrective action.
“The Report paints a picture of poor internal communication and weak processes. The Report identifies specific dates whereby errors could have been corrected but were not and key documents that could have been effectively interrogated but were not. It is also clear from the Report that the then Executive did not properly engage with the Board on these matters, nor was relevant information provided to the Board by the Executive or by the auditors.”
“We will be taking on board the issues raised by the Report and will be engaging with RTÉ’s auditors, Deloitte, to discuss the contents of same. Steps have been taken to ensure there can be no repeat of these failures. Working with Director General Kevin Bakhurst, the Board of RTÉ remains committed to an ongoing programme of reform and recovery for the organisation. I hope that the publication of this Report represents an important staging point in RTÉ’s rebuilding of trust with the public and stakeholders.”
In a statement, Mr. Tubridy said that he welcomed "the report's findings that I did not claim €120,000 in fees which was due to me in 2020 and that I did not agree with how RTÉ proposed to account for this decision".
Adding that it was now clear "that my actual income from RTÉ in 2020 and 2021 matches what was originally published as my earnings for those years and RTÉ has not yet published its top ten earner details for 2022".
However, RTÉ has responded stating that it is seeking clarification on the meaning of Mr. Tubridy’s comments, as RTÉ published details of the presenters earning for 2022 in the RTÉ Board statement of June 22nd.
In said board statement, it showed that the presenter’s published earnings for 2020 was €446,250, while his actual earnings amounted to €522,500. Also, in 2021, his published earnings were €440,000, while he was actually paid €515,000.
