Ryan Tubridy launched a passionate defence in his opening statement in front of the Oireachtas this morning.
The RTE star appeared before the Public Accounts Committee as part of a probe into the state broadcaster's payments scandal. The former Late Late Show host launched into an emotional defence of what he called "seven material untruths".
Ryan rebuffed the claims that he didn't take a pay cut from RTE in 2020. He said he had, in fact, taken a 20% pay cut from RTE at a cost of €525,000 for each of the five years of his contract from 2020 to 2025.
"I am obliged to do 205 Radio shows and 38 live two-hour Late Late Shows under this contract. I am an independent contractor. I get no pension or entitlements from RTE. Under the terms of my contract, I am allowed to do additional work outside of RTE.
Read more: Ryan Tubridy and Noel Kelly face grilling over RTE payments scandal
"I stress that there is nothing morally, ethically or legally wrong with me or any independent contractor doing additional work for another client outside of RTE."
Ryan went on to reject allegations of his decision to retire from the Late Late Show being prompted by the payments scandal. The Dubliner said he wasn't aware of "any of this debacle" when he made the decision to retire.
He said: "I made my initial decision to leave The Late Late Show almost a year ago. Around this time, I mentioned it to those closest to me, my family and my agent. They were surprised, very surprised to say the least."
Ryan went on to say he was burnt out and exhausted and that he "had left a lot on the studio floor after Covid". He said he first became aware of the Grant Thornton review in May. He added: "Even then, I had no inkling of the bombshell which was to come when RTÉ released their statement on June 22."
Additionally, Ryan said the claim that he was "covertly or secretly overpaid" by RTE was untrue. He said he understood the "justifiable" anger amongst his colleague and said the "upshot of RTE's inaccurate declarations is an impression that I have been less than honest. This is not the case".
Ryan added that he wasn't aware RTE were concealing payments to him. Furthermore, he stated that there was no secret agreement with Renault.
He said not only is that not true but it "absolutely beggars belief". He said: "I had a separate commercial agreement with Renault – the basis of which was that I would make public appearances and perform roadshows for them.
"The work that I have done for Renault is all over social media. The suggestion that this was secret just makes no sense."
Ryan went on to spurn claims that RTE's underwriting of Renault's payment obligations was a secret. He said: "As the documents we have prepared for you today show, and as my agent will explain in more detail, RTE committed in February 2020 to provide this guarantee in the early stages of contract negotiations around my 2020-2025 contract.
"This is unequivocally confirmed in an email dated February 20, 2020 from Breda O'Keeffe to my agent. It was copied to other members of the executive board, the DG and RTE's solicitors' office.
"Everyone in RTE who needed to know knew."
Lastly, Ryan said he had failed to ask RTE about their under-declarations of his earnings in 2017, 2018, and 2019 on January 20, 2022. He said: "This is a question I did not ask at that time, and one I should have asked. I fully accept that."
He added that his agent told him he was entitled to a €120,000 payment, that has been variously called a loyalty, end-of contract or exit payment. He said: "I did not invoice for that payment. I did not pursue the payment and I did not receive any payment.
"In my simple view, I had foregone a €120,000 payment- not taken it. BUT because of how RTÉ reported that decision in their accounts, the narrative of the last 3 weeks has been that not only did I take this payment but that I somehow contrived to hide it.
"I reiterate; I actually waived my entitlement to this payment, and I didn't receive one cent of it. I hid nothing. I had nothing to hide."
In a statement released prior to Mr Tubridy's appearance before the Committee this morning, RTE rejected claims that an incorrect version of events was presented to the committees regarding the agreement to underwrite payments of €75,000 from Renault.
The state broadcaster added: "For clarity, the claim relates specifically to an email that was sent by the former CFO of RTE to NK Management on 20 February 2020, which is being characterised as a contractual commitment on the part of RTE to underwrite the payments in question.
"RTE does not accept this characterisation. RTE’s position is that the email of 20 February 2020 formed part of the discussions and engagement between it and NK Management in relation to the proposed new TV and radio contract with Mr Tubridy/Tuttle Productions and did not comprise a binding legal or contractual commitment on its part.
"RTE’s position is as per previous statements: that, until the verbal commitment given by the former Director General during the call on 7 May 2020, it had not agreed to underwrite the €75,000 payment per contract year."
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
