RTÉ crisis: Documents to committee detail Tubridy contract, deal with Renault, letter from Forbes, and 100 top workers’ pay

RTÉ has supplied dozens of pages of documents to the Oireachtas media committee ahead of a key meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

Included in the pack of documents, which contains 52 pages in total, are details of the controversial “Tripartite Agreement” between Renault, RTÉ and Ryan Tubridy, which ultimately saw €150,000 paid over by the broadcaster to the Late Late Show host.

The document runs to six pages and is titled “Renault and RTÉ and Ryan Tubridy Agreement October 2020-31 December 2021″. It outlines how it covers three “dealer events”, with RTÉ to cover the costs of each event, including set building, event management and finger food and refreshments for 100 people.

The events were to recreate the Late Late Show set-up with at least three guests, a drink reception and music “from up and coming talent”. Surprise guests from Renault’s brand ambassadors are suggested, including musicians Aslan and Keywest, and broadcaster Ian Dempsey. Expenses of €500 are included in the deal. The document appears to contain no reference to the RTÉ undertaking to backstop the payments to Mr Tubridy in the event that a second agreement beyond 2021 was not struck.

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It contains a copy of the five-year contract with Mr Tubridy, signed in 2020, and two side letters.

The contract is dated July 24th, 2020, but a separate side letter sent by then director general Dee Forbers three days previously in relation to the contract outlines an undertaking “that fees set out in this agreement will be paid by RTÉ without any reductions and RTÉ shall not make any request or inquiry from you in relation to a reduction in the agreed fees” during the agreement. A second side letter outlines an agreement to early termination of Mr Tubridy’s existing contract, which had been due to run until August 2020.

However, some files relating to the agreement have been withheld by RTÉ which has cited legal professional privilege – although it is seeking an outside opinion to assess the implications of it waiving its privilege over the document.

The contract itself runs to 21 pages, covering Mr Tubridy’s radio show and the Late Late Show. While much of the content appears to be standard, it emphasises that Mr Tubridy is not an employee and therefore doesn’t have entitlements to employment benefits, and precludes him from taking employment-related claims against RTÉ. It also provides an insight into his relationship and terms with RTÉ, obliging the broadcaster to consult with Mr Tubridy before changing producer on his shows where possible.

It precludes him from accepting professional work in broadcasting, advertising or promotional activities, saving certain commitments such as charity work or named events, such as turning on the Christmas lights at the Shelbourne Hotel or being involved in “Arnotts Story Telling”. It also allows him to work on radio or TV produced outside Ireland and the UK and not available in those territories, or to write for newspapers. However, it “acknowledges” that Mr Tubridy has a relationship with BBC Radio and allows him to provide services to the UK broadcaster for up to six weeks per year while he is not working with RTÉ, subject to agreement with the Irish station.

It reserves time off for Mr Tubridy – one week in spring, one week around Easter, one week in autumn and two weeks at Christmas, with no obligation to provide services on Mr Tubridy for one block of up to five consecutive weeks, but it requires him to work up to four bank holidays.

When it comes to pay, the contract obliges RTÉ to pay Mr Tubridy’s company €440,000 per contract year plus VAT, paid monthly, alongside work-related travel and subsistence expenses

It also appears to give RTÉ the power to prevent him from taking products, like cars, from commercial partners.

There is an anonymised list of the top earners at RTÉ, with the broadcaster citing GDPR concerns for withholding the names associated with the payments. It told the committee that a number of individuals had been in touch with RTÉ's data protection office “to register their concern and have objected to the proposed publication of their personal data”.

The anonymised list shows the 100 are comprised of 84 employees and 16 contractors. Ten members of the executive board are included, with 59 other management personnel and 31 presenting or non-management workers. The highest three figures paid are to presenters, coming in at €515,000, €343,083 and €342,000 respectively when allowances are included. The lowest paid person on the list is a manager receiving a total package of €116,851.

Correspondence sent to the committee disclosed the existence of two more barter accounts.

Other information on total expenditure on client entertainment using the barter account since 2014 was also promised on Wednesday morning but that full details of expenditure on Toy Show - the Musical were not available “due to ongoing financial verification”. There were indications that these would be supplied on Tuesday night but had not been sent in late in the evening.

A copy of RTÉ's contract with Patrick Kielty was supplied.

There are documents describing discounts made available to RTÉ's commercial partners, but some are redacted. A note with the documents explains that actual discounts cannot be supplied. A copy of Ms Forbes’s contract is not supplied but RTÉ told the committee that it does not contain certain clauses relating to clawback provisions, which the committee had asked about.

Details of benefits given to RTÉ personnel by commercial partners are not supplied, with RTÉ referring to its guidelines covering conflicts of interest, and plans to create a register of interests. The broadcaster also did not supply a figure of how much it has put aside to cover potential settlements arising out of settlements for bogus self-employment, claiming it would prejudice its ability to deal with those matters in the future.