Patrick Kielty’s Late Late Show salary could be set to be revealed ahead of his hosting the famous RTE chat show – but only if the presenter agrees.
Fianna Fail TD Niamh Smyth questioned the RTE board on how soon they will be making the Northern Irishman’s salary public ahead of his debut hosting the Friday night chat show in September.
Asked who negotiated his deal, Richard Collins, Chief Financial Officer, confirmed: “The CFO. I negotiated the deal.”
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Asked if Mr Collins made the board or just the chair of the board, Siún Ní Raghallaigh, aware of the deal, he confirmed: “I’ve made the chair of the board aware of the deal.”
Asked if the chair of the board was “satisfied” with the deal, Ms Ní Raghallaigh said: “It still has to come before the remuneration committee of the board”.
Asked when will the deal be made public, Adrian Lynch, acting deputy Director General, said: “There’s third parties to that deal. It would depend on the other party.”
Asked how soon would the public be made aware of Kielty’s salary, Mr Lynch indicated that if Mr Kielty is satisfied with it, RTE can publish those details.
But Ms Ní Raghallaigh added: “It still has to come before the remuneration committee.”
The committee will be meeting on Friday and Kielty’s salary could be known as early as Friday evening or Monday morning.
Mr Kielty – who lives in London with his wife Cat Deeley – has declined to reveal his salary.
Earlier this week, Labour Senator Marie Sherlock said that it was now “vital” for Mr Kielty to be upfront about his remuneration package as public trust in RTÉ is being questioned.
Fine Gael TD Colm Burke, a member of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee, also called on the broadcaster to “outline” Mr Kielty’s pay.
"It is a call that might not be well received by some of the senior management at RTÉ, but they brought this fully on themselves," he said.
Mr Kielty’s rep has been contacted for comment.
