It is "possible" that Ryan Tubridy's resignation from the Late Late Show was connected to the payments scandal, Interim Director General Adrian Lynch has said.
The comment came as bosses appeared before the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee. RTE acting DG Adrian Lynch conceded it’s possible Ryan Tubridy knew of questions being raised about his €75,000 commercial income when he announced his departure from the Late Late.
Mr Lynch said: "Just to give context, because I knew it would come up what I had done was, I tried to work out the day that the director of content told me that Ryan Tubridy went into his office to tell him he was stepping down. So, I went back and checked my email because I had sent him an email with a list of potiential presenters and that was on, I think, March 13.
"I didn't realise that actually the CFO had had contact from the auditors on whatever it was, March 10, or whatever.
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"Based on the information from yesterday, it is possible [that Ryan Tubridy was aware of the concerns around the payments]."
Tubridy has previously denied his decision to stand down as host of the station's flagship show was linked to the controversy. He said in a statement released last week apologising for not asking questions of RTE about his published earnings, he said: "RTÉ’s accounting treatment and publication of payments made to me between 2017 and 2022 contained serious errors.
"While I have no responsibility for the corporate governance in RTÉ or how or what they publish in their accounts, when my earnings were published I should have asked questions at the time and sought answers as to the circumstances which resulted in incorrect figures being published. I didn’t, and I bear responsibility for my failure to do so. For this, I apologise unreservedly.
"For the avoidance of doubt, all my earnings from RTÉ have at all times been included in my company’s accounts that were prepared by my accountant and filed with the Companies Registration Office and all my taxes are up to date. My filed accounts with details of these earnings have previously been reported on in the media.
"At the centre of all of this is trust. The trust of colleagues in RTÉ and the trust of a great many people who listen to my show. To them: I wholeheartedly apologise for my error of judgement.
"I also wish to respond to suggestions that this issue had some bearing on my decision to step down from hosting The Late Late Show. It did not."
Mr Lynch previously denied this as well, saying at yesterday's Oireachtas Media Committee meeting: "There is no relationship between these payments and Ryan Tubridy's decision to step down from the Late Late Show."
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