RTÉ crisis: PAC letter reveals it wants to question Tubridy and Kelly on payments from as far back as 2017

What we know so far

• PAC letter reveals it wants to question Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly on payments from as far back as 2017, when they appear before the committee on Tuesday at 11am
• RTÉ unions had a frank and honest discussion with incoming RTÉ director general Kevin Backhurst today
• Kevin Bakhurst is set to “rearrange the front bench” in the station’s executive management. Read this story here.
• RTÉ's struggle to assert control over the scandal was dealt a fresh blow when Marty Morrissey disclosed he was the beneficiary of a car borrowed from Renault for several years.
• Separately, gardaí are reviewing complaints seeking an investigation into the governance and payments controversy at RTÉ.

Best reads

• Justine McCarthy says revelations of a them-and-us culture at the top in RTÉ are not new
• Jennifer Bray’s explainer asks: What next after the ‘darkest period’ in the history of the State broadcaster?
• The latest episode of In the News looks at how Toy Show the Musical went wrong for RTÉ

Thank you for following our liveblog today. We have continued coverage of the RTÉ pay crisis here, and will have further news, analysis and opinion over the weekend. You can read back on today’s events by scrolling below.

The letter from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly has been sent out, writes Ronan McGreevy.

The pair are invited to attend the PAC at 11am on Tuesday morning for a meeting that may last up to three hours and they will be allowed to make an opening statement which is five minutes in duration.

PAC chair Brian Stanley has asked the pair to address a number of specific questions:

Payments to presenters and personnel at RTÉ, specifically from 2017 to date;

Details of Mr Tubridy’s contractual relationships with RTÉ, including related payments and exit fees;

The process relating to the tripartite agreement, including its negotiation and signoff, the content of the tripartite agreement, and the issue of it being underwritten by RTÉ;

The raising of associated invoices and related payments, the details of the invoices, and who was aware of same;

Any instructions given by Mr Tubridy to Mr Kelly, and any further discussions in that regard before finalisation of the agreement;

The call of May 7th, 2020 and the letter that followed from Dee Forbes to Mr Tubridy;

And “any matters “arising from the material that you will provide to the Committee in advance of the meeting, and that RTÉ are expected to provide to the Committee by Monday 10 July.”

Here’s the opening page of the letter in question.

You know things are really bad for RTÉ when a district court judge lambastes the organisation while at the same time fining those who have not paid their licence fee.

Judge Anthony Halpin had 159 people in front of him charged with not paying their RTÉ licence fee. He imposed the minimum fine of €150 and costs of €100 on 37 of those involved who did not turn up to court.

Other cases were either adjourned to a later date or struck out for reasons including a licence had since been obtained. He said he had no choice as the law is the law.

In his comments at the outset, the judge said it is a criminal offence to have a TV without a TV licence and the offence on conviction carries a fine and a record of conviction for a crime.

He went on say, to quote Hamlet, that the phrase there is “something rotten in the state of Denmark can appropriately be applied to the shenanigans and mischievous activities that have gone on in RTÉ over the past number of years of which we knew nothing”.

Those personalities and executives who received “unconscionable sums of money” should “reflect on their position and do the right thing”, he said.

The “freeloaders in RTÉ” who got loans of cars, or “received branded cars free gratis”, spouses who were “wined and dined and partook of events at the expense of RTÉ” and others “lavished with such generosity” should pay back the Euro equivalent “to help this financially strapped semistate body”, he added.

It saddened him that those before the TV licence court “who are crippled with the cost of living” have to “swallow this unpalatable pill of the licence fee when they see that such a source of income is squandered and abused”.

Stuart Masterson, the chair of RTÉ's Trade Union Group, has given more details about the meeting with Kevin Bakhurst this morning. He said Mr Bakhurst declined to elaborate on his plans to reconstitute the RTÉ executive board, but will outline more of his plans in a meeting with staff on Monday morning.

Chair of the RTE trade union group , Stuart Masterson has welcomed plans by incoming director general Kevin Bakhurst to meet and engage staff more frequently as his predecessor Dee Forbes had not been seen very often. Ms Masterson was speaking on RTÉ radio’s News at One following a meeting between unions and Mr Bakhurst. While the unions were glad to meet with him, there was disappointment that it had been two weeks since there had been any word from management.

“We made it very clear to them going forward, he has to have more engagement with staff and unions so that we can be part of whatever’s going forward to what his plan is. We also pointed out other shortcomings within the company.” Mr Masterson said it would be interesting when information is provided about the lowest paid workers in RTÉ which will highlight the disparity “between the haves and the have nots.”

“There is sort of two tiers in RTÉ and it’s now being seen by the public how there is a disconnect between the staff who are here day in, day out and then the people at the higher end of things.” Trust needed to be rebuilt, not just with the staff, but also with the wider public.

There was still a lot of anger and frustration among staff at the lack of communication from management in the two weeks since the crisis arose.

Mr Masterson said that Mr Bakhurst had indicated his plan to have numerous smaller meetings with groups of workers rather than one large meeting because this would have meant that not everyone would have a voice.

The former GAA president turned MEP Seán Kelly has been defending Marty Morrissey.

The Trade Union Group in RTÉ has just issued a statement. It says.

“Following an invitation from incoming Director General of RTÉ, Kevin Bakhurst, to meet with staff representatives, Officers and Officials of the RTÉ Trade Union Group met with Mr Bakhurst, with Director of HR, Eimear Cusack, and interim Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch, this morning. Also attending the meeting on behalf of staff were Lisa Garvey, Vice-Chair of SIPTU, and Emma O’Kelly, Chair of NUJ Dublin Broadcast Branch.

“The meeting, while generally positive, was frank and robust. The TUG outlined in clear and certain terms the concerns and anger of staff. The TUG welcomes the Director General’s commitment to meeting with staff and their unions in the coming weeks, in light of the absence of engagement of RTÉ senior management since the crisis began.

“The TUG further welcomed the DG’s assurances on working to rebuild the trust with staff and with the public and towards creating a more open, equal and transparent organisation.”

This from Sarah Burns:

Mr Bakhurst is under no illusion about the depth of feeling among staff. The incoming director general said he would meet with staff, not just at Montrose, but around the country. The timing of these meetings had yet to be determined because his schedule would be shaped by ongoing parliamentary debates.

Another issue that Mr Bakhurst will address is proposals in relation to board restructuring.

Junior minister Anne Rabbitte has been scathing about RTÉ's management handling of the biggest crisis in its history.

“They haven’t been open, transparent and honest. That’s why we are getting into nitty-gritty about the likes of Marty. We don’t need to know that there is good governance and good procedures.”

The first thing she was told as a politician is that a straight question should be responded to by a straight answer because the journalist will move.

“Straight questions were asked the first day. They didn’t get answers. They didn’t get as much. They started coming with more information.

“That is not how the executive or the board of RTÉ as a professional outfit representing such a large organisation to behave. I don’t believe there is synergy among them when they are presenting.”

NUJ Irish general secretary Seamus Dooley has just been on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne following the conclusion of a meeting between the Trade Union Group (TUG) and RTÉ's incoming director general Kevin Bakhurst.

They had a “frank and honest discussion with generally a good atmosphere. We can do business with him, but they will have to work hard to win back the trust of the staff”.

Mr Dooley was frank about the shortcomings of Mr Bakhurst’s predecessor Dee Forbes. He said the meeting took place in the same room where unions had been lied to in the past about the extent of pay cuts across the organisation during Covid-19.

Mr Bakhurst promised RTÉ would proceed on the basis of openness and transparency from now on. “That’s the best we can hope for in an initial meeting but the proof will be if we never again are lied to. Trust and honesty is the fundamental principle of industrial relations,” Mr Dooley stated.

He referred to letter in which Ms Forbes assured Ryan Tubridy in writing that there would be no further pay cuts during his five year contract between 2020 and 2025 at a time when increments were being frozen for staff.

“Trust is much easier to break than to restore.”

Here’s the latest from the Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris following his appearance on Morning Ireland.

He expressed confidence in Minister for Arts and Media Catherine Martin and her handling of the RTÉ scandal.

“She is for the first time in the history of the state, to the best of my knowledge, using powers under the Broadcasting Act to send in forensic accountants,” he said.

“Those people will be appointed by her early next week, because we have given two weeks for people who we thought would know the answers to give the answers. And for whatever reason they haven’t.”

How did RTÉ manage to lose so much money on Toy Show - the Musical? That’s the theme of our latest In the News podcast. Hugh Linehan and presenter Bernice Harrison discuss how RTÉ managed to lose €2.2 million on this production

How Toy Show: The Musical went wrong for RTÉ

Listen | 30:53

RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne programme is reporting that the incoming director general Kevin Bakhurst is meeting with the Trade Union Group (TUG) in RTÉ today to plot a way forward.

Here’s Stephen Collins’ take on things this morning. He quotes Mark Twain on the perils of “yellow journalism”.

“The first great end and aim of journalism is to make a sensation. If you have none, make one. Seize about the prominent events of the day and clamour about them with a maniacal fury that shall compel attention. Vilify everything that is unpopular, harry it, hunt it without rhyme or reason so that you get a sensation out of it. Laud that which is popular, unless you feel sure that you can make it unpopular by attacking it. Hit every man that is down – never fail in this for it is safe.”

Our radio critic Mick Heaney praises RTÉ journalists for their dogged pursuit of the truth about what is happening within the organisation.

The Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris did not hold back when questioned about the RTÉ scandal on Morning Ireland which has not shied away at all from this issue.

He is “shocked and flabbergasted” that no RTÉ executive has seen fit to address the staff since the scandal broke. Speaking to staff has to be incoming director general Kevin Bakhurst’s first priority, he suggested.

“Maybe not talk, listen,” presenter Áine Lawlor interjected. “There may not be a huge amount a director general can say. We have colleagues on Covid payments trying to explain to the bank manager why they are having problems paying their mortgage while, at the same time, highly paid people (Ryan Tubridy) were getting guarantees that they wouldn’t be asked for a paycutm as well as a top-up.”

Mr Harris went on to state that continuing dripfeed of information is “not tenable. We are getting pretty low on patience at this stage.

“The dripfeed is doing extraordinary damage. We need RTÉ to get back to commissioning drama, not being the drama.”

RTÉ executives, he added, “can’t play the poor mouth in public and be flaithulach with public money on the other.”

Coimisiún na Meán executive chairperson Jeffrey Godfrey has said it is “deeply concerned” about the implications of the RTÉ scandal on public service broadcasting.

Coimisiún na Meán, formerly the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) is the regulator of RTÉ.

“You can’t have thriving public service broadcasting unless you have a thriving public service broadcaster,” he said.

“The ongoing revelations have severely damaged trust. The investigations and reviews by the minister will be part of that.”

Each year RTÉ publishes a statement of performance commitments which it submits to Coimisiún na Meán about how it delivers its public service remit.

The commission reviews whether or not RTÉ delivered on that commitment and crucially whether or not there should be a change in the TV licence fee.

“We are concerned about the delivery of the public service commitments especially one of the commitments which is to put the audience at the heart of decision-making. We will be wanting to look at them in some detail to verify whether or not RTÉ has met those commitments to the extent to which they haven’t, how they feel and what might be done about it. And then we’ll have to consider whether it’s appropriate to recommend any change to the license fee until trust has been restored in RTÉ.”

The Commission will liaise with the Department currently coordinating reviews into RTÉ and then “if necessary piggy back” on that work “so that we can reach our conclusions as efficiently as possible.”

Mr Godfrey explained that the Commission’s remit was advisory. “We’re not an auditor, we’re not an investigator, we’re not part of the assurance mechanism for corporate governance. That’s for the board, that’s for the Minister. The minister has the powers to appoint accountants. And as we know, she’s done that. So it is more of an advisory role. We do get consulted on what the governance commitments should be so we can again advise on that. And RTÉ will be preparing a new five year strategy. It will be published potentially revising its public service statement. So we do bring influence into that, but that’s the extent of our role in relation to the public service remit.”

Interesting historical analogy here from our radio critic Mick Heaney. He compares the Ryan Tubridy revelations to the shooting of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28th, 1914, the event that started the First World War.

“With each new revelation of murky fiscal practices, there’s less focus on the undeclared payments to Ryan Tubridy that initially sparked the controversy. Tubridy is beginning to resemble the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the piece, the hapless spark to a much wider conflagration: as it stands, the only way he’s likely to be back behind a microphone any time soon is testifying in the Oireachtas next week.”

Fianna Fáil Senator Timmy Dooley has said that RTÉ GAA Commentator Marty Morrissey was “unfairly and unnecessarily” pulled into the RTÉ pay controversy at the Oireachtas PAC meeting on Thursday.

Senator Dooley told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that his questions at the PAC meeting had queried who in RTÉ was getting paid a car allowance out of licence fees? Were there people getting a car allowance who did not have a car or even a driver’s licence? “But for some reason, RTÉ management decided to create this notion about an individual who had a car loan, etc., etc., creating a level of hype and it required Marty Morrissey then to effectively clarify the situation. “In his case, he’s not getting a car allowance. And so his situation didn’t relate to the question that was asked. And neither is he a car ambassador. So I’m sort of somewhat confused as to why RTÉ management decided to create a situation for Marty that required him to come out now and clarify the situation.”

When it was pointed out that Ryan Tubridy had been taken off air because of the controversy, Senator Dooley said that the two situations were entirely different. In the Tubridy case significant payments were made “in a clandestine way” that effectively hid the payments.

“Marty Morrissey has gotten nothing from RTÉ, from the license holder other than his salary. So therefore, quite frankly, he has been pulled into this controversy, I think unfairly and unnecessarily.” It had been a car loan, no licence fee funds were involved, no RTÉ money was involved “He has been paid for the work that he has done. And yes, he had an arrangement, as he said in relation to the loan of a car. He has explained that and they are two entirely different situations.

“I think we’ve got to be careful through all of this in trying to get to the bottom of resolving the culture in RTÉ that we don’t scapegoat people. And I think the same applies to some extent to Ryan, probably because they’re high profile names.

“They get outed and people make comments and they get somewhat carried away in public discourse. At the end of the day, somebody at senior management in RTÉ signed off on Ryan Tubridy’s contract. That wasn’t Ryan Tubridy’s fault, quite frankly, himself and his agent or his agent on his behalf, sought to do the best deal they could, unwise perhaps that they’ve pushed it so far, but not nothing wrong with somebody trying to fight to get the greatest deal for themselves.”

Good morning. My name is Ronan McGreevy. I will be manning the live blog this morning.

It’s Day 16 of the RTÉ scandal. Yesterday was a relatively quiet day. The Public Accounts Committee met in private to consider its next move, yet we had a public statement by the incoming director-general Kevin Bakhurst who said restoring trust will be his first priority. We also had a mea culpa from Marty Morrissey that he has been driving a Renault car for the last five years without declaring it.