Leo Varadkar has called on Ryan Tubridy to come before a Dail committee to answer questions about the secret payments he benefited from if asked.
And the Taoiseach has left the issue of Tubridy handing back some or all of the €345,000 in overpayments open by saying it’s up to him.
Mr Varadkar was asked by the Irish Mirror if Mr Tubridy should make himself available before a Dail committee to face questions about his massive secret extra payments.
There are two Oireachtas committees, Media and Public Accounts, that are set to grill top RTE executives this Wednesday and Thursday. Mr Varadkar said: “I think if the committees invite him (Tubridy) to speak, he should be willing to do so.”
We also asked the Taoiseach if he thinks Mr Tubridy should consider handing back the secret payments pending the outcome of an external Government review into the controversy. Mr Varadkar said: “That really is a matter for him.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I think every citizen in the State should be afforded the presumption of innocence. So, we don’t know all the facts yet.
“I do think that it is important that people come before Oireachtas committees, tell us their side of the story, allow us all to get the facts out there and then we can determine the next steps after that.”
