Pat Kenny faces an uncertain future on RTÉ Radio 1 with confirmation from the State broadcaster that Ryan Tubridy is to take over part of his morning prime-time slot for the summer.
Announcing its summer schedule for Radio 1 yesterday, RTÉ said Tubridy would switch from 2FM to the more prestigious national station from June 27th next.
The shake-up follows a significant fall in audiences for both Kenny and fellow Radio 1 veteran Marian Finucane.
While Finucane has been booked in for a weekend radio slot from September, Kenny has yet to be guaranteed a place in the schedules.
A spokeswoman for the State broadcaster confirmed it had yet to finalise its schedule for autumn, when Kenny was due to return from his summer holidays.
It is believed the Late Late Show presenter - who earned €556,430 from RTÉ in 2002 - may move to a later slot in the Radio 1 schedule, possibly with the loss of an hour from his radio programme.
The Tubridy Show will go out from 9am to 11am on weekdays, incorporating elements of the successful 2FM show The Full Irish, "with bright music, breezy chat, guests and gags", according to RTÉ.
Listenership figures last February showed Kenny's audience had dropped from 332,000 to 301,000, while Finucane's had slipped from 383,000 to 357,000.
Tubridy, in contrast, increased his audience by 19,000.
The Tubridy Show will be followed during the summer by a variety of short feature programmes, giving the John Creedon show an extra half-hour on Radio 1 before the news at 1pm.
Other elements of the station's summer schedule include a four-part mini serial written by Maeve Binchy and starring Gerry Ryan to be broadcast every Tuesday in June at 7pm.
Carrie Crowley will host a series on people making Ireland their new home.
