Ryan Tubridy played the passive actor but as RTÉ’s highest earner, he has responsibilities

RTÉ's secret payments to Ryan Tubridy and the repeated misreporting of his salary raise serious questions about corporate governance at the broadcaster. This is a huge blow to all those who care about the future of public service media – it is hard to argue for licence-fee reform when RTÉ blatantly undermined public trust, and misled the Oireachtas and its own staff.

At the heart of this governance issue is the tension between RTÉ's dual public and commercial identity. RTÉ defines itself as a not-for-profit organisation that meets “the needs of Irish citizens and not private shareholders”. Yet, it also relies on commercial advertising and sponsorship.

The payments to Tubridy, totalling €345,000, included an arrangement with a commercial partner. On Thursday, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, chairwoman of the board, said these payments were under the control of RTÉ's commercial division and evaded oversight from the board until recently. This questions the capacity of the board to fulfil its governance function, which is to “represent the interests of viewers and listeners, ensuring that RTÉ fulfils its statutory responsibilities in an efficient and effective manner.”

There are many other questions to be answered. Who knew about the arrangement? How was it initiated? Are there any similar commercial arrangements or salary top-ups? Are public-value tests applied to commercial arrangements? Why did it take so long to identify?

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The starting salary for a researcher on The Late Late Show is €32,700, rising to a maximum of €55,600 after 12 years. Meanwhile, high-profile presenters benefit from being self-employed and free to negotiate lucrative contracts

As director general since 2016, the main responsibility to answer these questions lies with Dee Forbes, who was suspended by RTÉ on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the incoming director general and current chairwoman must restore order and trust. The precise governance issues will be teased out in time. Ní Raghallaigh has promised to hold people accountable. But that accountability, assuming it is adequate, will come too late to repair the reputational damage.

Most people are unaware of RTÉ's organisational structures or efforts to separate editorial and commercial decisions within media outlets. In reality any RTÉ scandal harms public trust. Earlier this month, the Digital News Report revealed that RTÉ News was the most trusted news brand in Ireland. It is unsurprising, then, that RTÉ journalists have been to the fore in asking for accountability and seeking to maintain trust.

[ RTÉ's shocking breach of trust over Tubridy’s unusual pay deal weakens broadcaster’s financial pleas ]

Beyond the damage to its public reputation, it is also worth considering the impact on RTÉ staff, the vast majority of whom are not on large salaries. As the National Union of Journalists observed, the starting salary for a researcher on The Late Late Show is €32,700, rising to a maximum of €55,600 after 12 years. Meanwhile, high-profile presenters including Ryan Tubridy benefit from being self-employed and free to negotiate lucrative contracts. RTÉ has also been embroiled in controversy for misclassifying some workers as self-employed freelancers. This employment practice is widely criticised for cheating Revenue of PRSI contributions and depriving workers of basic entitlements such as holiday pay. As a semi-State institution supported with public money, RTÉ should be emblematic of fair and decent employment practices.

For years, it has struggled to justify the amounts paid to its highest-paid presenters. Rightly or wrongly, these high-profile figures are the public image of RTÉ, and people tend to associate the licence fee with their salaries. But the focus on the 10 highest earners has always been a bit of a distraction. The €2.7 million earned by the top 10 is less than 1 per cent of RTÉ's total turnover. Even if those salaries were halved, it would not address RTÉ's accumulated losses, about €10 million between 2018 and 2021.

Nevertheless, there are legitimate questions about stark pay differentials within RTÉ and value for money. As RTÉ's highest earner Ryan Tubridy earns less than the BBC’s highest earner – Gary Lineker gets €1.57 million – but the €515,000 we now know he took home in 2022 would place him fifth on the BBC’s equivalent list. The BBC serves a market 12 times larger than Ireland’s.

In his statement on Thursday, Tubridy presented himself as a passive actor with no responsibility for these dynamics. But as someone who sought out roles presenting flagship RTÉ programmes and as RTÉ's highest earner, he clearly has ethical responsibilities to the institution, those who work in it and the public who fund it.

In a subsequent statement on Friday, he acknowledged that he should have asked questions about the “incorrect figures” that were published, and apologised “unreservedly” for not doing so. He also apologised to his colleagues and listeners for the “error of judgement.”

Typically, public service media are captured by political interests. In Ireland, in contrast, public service media have largely been abandoned by politics

People who work in high-profile roles in public service media often say their job is a privilege. It is – but privilege and responsibility go together.

In an age of ubiquitous media, many have questioned whether public service media are still needed. All EU member states are asked to guarantee a public media service that comprises information, education, culture and entertainment. Studies indicate that the health of public service media is linked to the health of democracy and resilience to disinformation. In terms of cultural, educational and historical output, it is vital that we have the capacity to tell our own stories without relying on the whims of commercial markets.

Yet, public service media are under attack in many countries, including the UK. Typically, public service media are captured by political interests. In Ireland, in contrast, public service media have largely been abandoned by politics. Governments have repeatedly ignored RTÉ's pleas for licence-fee reform. This Government even rejected the main recommendation of its Future of Media Commission, which called for a new public funding model for RTÉ. Ultimately, reform of the licence fee needs to happen because we need public service media. That means reforming and rethinking RTÉ to serve the needs of citizens in our 21st century media world. That may mean a full separation of public service media from commercial funding.

Dr Eileen Culloty and Dr Roddy Flynn are members of the FuJo Institute at the Dublin City University School of Communications