The Taoiseach says Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly should come before Oireachtas to answer questions on the RTÉ pay scandal.

The State broadcaster is preparing to appear before the Oireachtas for the second time today, this time at the Public Accounts Committee.

Media Minister Catherine Martin has said yesterday’s appearance by the broadcaster 'revealed a shocking failure of governance' by senior RTÉ management.

She urged the Executive Board to “engage in as transparent a manner as possible” with the Oireachtas and the public moving forward.

“The fact that they wouldn’t or would refuse to would be a matter of more concern to me.”

The Taoiseach says Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly should come before the Oireachtas to answer questions. pic.twitter.com/ONoyvgMYNA

— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) June 29, 2023

Speaking in Brussels this afternoon, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Ryan Tubridy should also appear at the hearings alongside his agent Noel Kelly and former RTÉ Director General Dee Forbes.

“They may have a story to tell and I think it is right that they should be allowed to tell their side of the story,” he said.

“The fact that they wouldn’t or would refuse to would be a matter of more concern to me.”

He said they would be “treated fairly” if they came before the committee.

“We are trying to get to the bottom of what happened when it comes to these unusual clandestine payments in RTÉ,” he said.

“RTÉ executives and board members have come before Oireachtas Committees to answer question but there are other people who could shine light on this.

“They include Ryan Tubridy, they include his agent, and they include Dee Forbes and I still think they should be willing to come before the committee and answer questions.

“There are procedures, they will be treated fairly and I think that would be the right thing to do on their part.”

Siún Ní Raghallaigh

It comes as the RTÉ Chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh told the Oireachtas Public Accounts the scandal was “truly shocking” and promised the broadcaster would work to rebuild the public’s trust.

Ms Ní Raghallaigh also said there would be a review of highly paid staff members' salaries and that it was time for the broadcaster to dispense with the word ‘talent’ for its highest-paid presenters.

"Words matter and the term, as it is currently used, reinforces a 'them and us' culture in RTÉ,” she said.

"It implies some have greater worth than others. The first step in cultural change is to consign this term to the dustbin.”

She committed to publishing the salaries of the top 100 earners at the broadcaster.

Patrick Kielty

Meanwhile, the new Late Late Show presenter Patrick Kielty revealed that he will be paid €250,000 per season for the role.

He is also getting a one-off payment of €20,000 to cover the pre-production and rehearsals from now to September.

He said he will be paying for his own flight and accommodation expenses – even though the contract allows him to expense them to RTÉ.

He has also asked RTÉ to carbon offset his flights.

“I genuinely hope this helps clarify things going forward,” he said. “I can’t wait to get started.”

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris speaking at Tallaght Garda station in August 2022. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

Meanwhile, the Garda Commissioner has said Gardaí are prepared to carry out an investigation in relation to RTÉ, but they'd need to receive a complaint first.

Drew Harris says no complaints have been made in relation to the broadcaster to date.

He told reporters this evening, an investigation could be carried out if there were elements of deception or dishonesty in respect of the behaviour.