The future of star presenter Ryan Tubridy at RTÉ will be strongly influenced by two hearings at Oireachtas committees today, the station’s management has indicated.
New director general Kevin Bakhurst pointedly declined to endorse Mr Tubridy’s future at RTÉ in a series of interviews yesterday, saying instead: “We’ll see how the week goes and what comes out of it.”
Later he said he hoped to see “maximum transparency and honesty” from Mr Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly, who will appear at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) this morning and at the media committee in the afternoon to face questions about top-up payments to the star which were concealed by RTÉ.
Mr Bakhurst said he hoped to come to a decision soon on Mr Tubridy’s future, “for Ryan’s sake and for everybody’s”, but added that the views of staff would also be taken into account.
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Asked about reports that Mr Tubridy and his agent had been exploring broadcasting opportunities in the UK recently, Mr Bakhurst said: “If there are opportunities there, I sincerely wish him well. It is a tough media market in the UK at the moment and so it is not going to be straightforward for him.”
Last night Mr Tubridy and Mr Kelly were said to be finalising opening statements to both committees with the advice of lawyers and public relations advisers, which are expected to be circulated this morning to members of the two committees.
Their evidence is eagerly awaited as the latest instalment of a controversy that has gripped the public and media imagination in recent weeks. There will be a particular focus to see if they contradict the accounts given by RTÉ executives to Oireachtas committees in recent weeks.
[ Hugh Linehan: Bakhurst’s arrival gives RTÉ a much-needed leaderOpens in new window ]
The revelations have pitched the broadcaster into an unprecedented crisis, now entering its third week. Yesterday director of commercial affairs Geraldine O’Leary announced she would bring forward her retirement with immediate effect, joining director of strategy Rory Coveney who announced his departure over the weekend.
On his first day officially in the role, Mr Bakhurst sent a lengthy note to staff at the station outlining his plans and announcing that he had stood down the existing executive board and is forming a new management team. He later acknowledged that there would be a cost in standing down some executives, but said there would be “no special pay-offs” when people resign or are made redundant.
When people resign or are made redundant, any payments that are made will be fair and reasonable, he said.
In addition to the people who have left the station, director of content Jim Jennings and chief financial officer Richard Collins are also no longer members of the management team. But Mr Bakhurst said Mr Collins was still with the station and would be attending a meeting of the PAC on Thursday. He would be “with us for another couple of weeks”, Mr Bakhurst said.
Mr Bakhurst said the interim deputy director general, Adrian Lynch, was examining the issue of presenters and staff who had commercial arrangements outside the station and whether these were in line with the guidelines that existed.
“I would take a pretty dim view of people who have breached those guidelines, particularly if they had done it persistently,” he said. When Mr Lynch had gathered all the facts, a decision would be taken then as to whether there should be sanctions or an “amnesty”.
