RTÉ admits paying Tubridy €345,000 more than declared

ButtersSuki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120922566#Comment_120922566

More than any of that, he misrepresented himself.

For years he presented himself as, to quote his agent, "the most trusted man in Ireland". That trust is gone, because it was built on a foundation of deceit and lies.

humberklog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120923920#Comment_120923920

Where did it come from that the car was for her?

At the committee RT was asked about it and said the car was for him.

Surely that puts distance between the truth and RT saying the Renault gig was a seperate business deal.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before but I think this was handled well from a bad news/incident management perspective.

Bad news coming - get the story out there and get a good amount of outrage going from Paddy Cosgrave, Ewan MacKenna, and the usual all-day-anger merchants on sites like Twitter and Reddit.

Throw a few people under the bus and agree to appear before a committee.

Throw plenty of petrol on the outrage bonfire.

Paddy and Pamela Taxpayer soon lose interest and within a few weeks all you have is poundshop Vincent Browne’s like Fionnan “Permanent Irritability” Sheehan going on about it.

Funnily enough I wonder was NK involved in it? Slow dripping a story like this on the cusp of silly season is the wrong approach. Outrage bubbles burst quickly especially in the era of social media, permanent anger and fast moving indignation.

It was a relative nothingburger, but well played whoever handled it.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120924962#Comment_120924962

A relative nothingburger that sees licence fee renewals down significantly?

A 27 per cent drop in licence fee renewals isn't a "nothing burger" for RTE.

And who knows what it is doing to RTE advertising rates and revenue.

Your concept of 'well played' doesn't match reality.

https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/tv-licence-renewals-dropped-25-in-wake-of-rte-payments-controversy-figures-show-1503536.html

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120922439#Comment_120922439

Ive been thinking, if I was in Ryans shoes, what would I do? He has a fine big house he can stay in, with plenty of rooms to explore. I wouldn't be wandering around the city centre. Actually with the recent assaults, I, myself, would be avoiding the city centre any way.

Considering we all know what he was earning, money is basically of no object, if it was me, I'd either be happy out in my fine big house or head off to a far flung desitantion where no-one knows my name. Surely he realises that sightings of him in town or anywhere else, just add to the fanfare. The last thing he needs is an article in the Irish Daily Mail saying "Ryan Tubridy looked tired but confident as he got off the 46A bus".

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120924045#Comment_120924045

Yeah but what if they just funded RTE from the general tax take, as I understand happens with TG4. John McGuirk explains why this would be a politically smarter option

https://gript.ie/beware-the-inevitable-rte-bailout/

The problem will arise if, and only if, they try to pay for it with some specific new broadcasting charge, along the lines of the one proposed a few years ago, which would have taxed ipads and laptops because technically you can watch Netflix on them. If they try that, then there’ll likely be public resistance.

But what if they don’t? The state has enough money, at present, that it could probably abolish the TV licence and allocate €500m to broadcasting from general funds. If that happens, then nobody, aside from we nerds, will give a damn.

alzer100

Quote from LambshankRedemption:

"Ryan Tubridy looked tired but confident as he got off the 46A bus".

Nah for Ryan, taxis are the way to go!

Larbre34

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120925287#Comment_120925287

Not any more.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120925249#Comment_120925249

McGuirk would do well to explain where Gript’s own funding comes from. Glasshouses, stones and all that.

ZookeeperDub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120925249#Comment_120925249

Cant see them doing that. As soon as the bad days come the question will be asked why did we abolish the TV license, plus if RTE had unlimited budget you would have Tubs on 900k again like Kenny.

I expect if the numbers are down the government will try to do a PR job and get license numbers back up. Like what RTE are doing and Tubs is doing filling the papers full of what a great person he is and linking him to anyone and everyone that might make him look better.

The government have an election coming up quickly, with all the huff and puff from the opposition they are getting nowhere fast and in fact going backwards would be my feeling. So something like this would be a disaster to push for a tv license direct out of wages or just take tax payers money and totally fund RTE to get around the obvious refusal to pay the license till RTE cleans up its mess

ZookeeperDub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120925327#Comment_120925327

Im not sure that makes any difference, his point is relevant.

Cluedo Monopoly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120925288#Comment_120925288

Well actually a drunk on the bus told him how to get rich.

alzer100

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120925374#Comment_120925374

Does NK travel on the 46A as well?

tayto lover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120925287#Comment_120925287

How does someone '' look tired and confident'' at the same time I wonder? Brilliant to be able to spot that in someone getting off a bus haha.

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120925371#Comment_120925371

As soon as the bad days come the question will be asked why did we abolish the TV license

Who exactly would be asking that? Even in rockier economic times the sums we are taking about would be trvial relative to overall government expenditure. In recent years total take has been round €80 billion, and RTE's operating cost has been over €300 million, so just over one day's tax take would cover the cost of RTE for a year. If the government (well really I mean Micheal "is there anything to be said for commissioning another review" Martin) is super-nervous about public reaction they could look to push the final decision about an RTE funding model past the next GE but the next government will surely have to take an early decision. Whatever model they go for I predict the public will adjust very quickly and the whole subject of RTE funding will be no more politically contentious after that than TG4 funding is now...

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120925373#Comment_120925373

It doesn't. Whenever a journalist makes a critical comment about Tubridy, the journalist will be personally insulted, or aspersions cast as to their integrity. Anything to avoid engaging with the points made by Brolly, Sheehan, McGuirk etc as they are unable to refute them.

ButtersSuki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120924962#Comment_120924962

Yes, you have mentioned how wonderfully you think it’s been handled. The coverage and damage done to the professional and personal reputation of many of the actors involved would indicate otherwise.

Yup, a nothing burger that’s in its 6th week now with the Taoiseach being asked about it on Newstalk as recently as this morning.

And another dismissal of a critic of Tubridy I see? This time Fionnán Sheahan.

Now you’re suggesting NKM was involved in leaving the story? Bonkers, as Tubs himself would say.

ZookeeperDub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120925620#Comment_120925620

When we hit the bad times before it was a fire sale, sure we sold off the Lotto for 400m.

RTE is running at 300m now because they have been somewhat curtailed even with all the dodgy expenses etc

Back in 2008, which was the only number i can find, it was over 400m. So if it was automatically paid it would be back to the good old days for RTE and you would be up at 500m.

The last thing any government needs to do with RTE is hand them an open cheque book. Even if they do implement the automatic license they should be made stay within that budget. If they are just a number in a spreadsheet the government pays for expect the whole 8 kids of Miriam on the payroll.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120924962#Comment_120924962

"Paddy and Pamela Taxpayer soon lose interest"

You keep repeating this mantra and that's all it is. Paddy and Pamela Taxpayer are not losing interest at all. Paddy and Pamela Taxpayer will just decline to pay the TV licence until RTE management is held over the fire and that chancer you seem irredeemably fond of, is given the final heave ho.

skimpydoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120924962#Comment_120924962

As Malcolm Tucker would say this is a fooking omnishambles. It's been so badly managed, your so called nothing burger has not gone away and we will still be talking about it on this thread next week.

You are also happy to denigrate well known respected journalists such as Fionnan Sheehan just because you don't agree with their point of view. Maybe you should sit back and reflect that you are wrong on this one and move on.

But I don't think you will as it's not your style.

ZookeeperDub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120925640#Comment_120925640

Honestly Brolly I have zero time for as I posted before, but thats on every topic so not just on Tubs. Not sure if that makes a difference :-)

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120925680#Comment_120925680

Even €500 million would be small beer in the overall public spending context, as John McGuirk asserts in the piece I quoted. And on the other side of the ledger, any government that gives RTE whatever it asks for financially would be hoping for, shall we say, a fair crack of the whip in its current affairs coverage...

except maybe the hard-pressed taxpayer...

PopePalpatine

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120925726#Comment_120925726

Only the finest of copium will do for NK Management.

humberklog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120927056#Comment_120927056

Well it kinda works out ok-ish if the driver was to arrive before the event, hang around and drop the customer back.

But Tubs said the car was for him, the Mark Tighe report says it was ordered by him from RTE.

Surely if one or both of those of those scenarios is true (at least one is admitted by RT) then how is there a seperation of payments and an ignorance of it?

How's that squared by those who believe Tubridy and lay all the blame on RTE?

Beasty

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Cluedo Monopoly

I love these folks.

https://twitter.com/DrHaroldNews/status/1686424757300875264

Cluedo Monopoly

28th June

Minister wants RTÉ payments report to be 'accelerated' (rte.ie)

The Minister for Media has said that a four-week wait for a Grant Thornton report into non-disclosed payments at RTÉ between 2017 and 2019 "does not reflect the urgency of the situation", and has called for it to be accelerated.

1st August - So where is it?

The 2022 RTE Annual Report has also been sitting on Catherine Martin's desk since early May 2023. It contains accounts which were audited by Deloitte and has been signed off by 2 RTE board members.

So publish it.

Karppi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120927497#Comment_120927497

It’s holed up in a secret locate, along with Kevin Bakhurst’s letter to Ryan’s letter about his contract. Both documents are hoping to get a new identity under the Witness Protection Scheme and disappear

ButtersSuki

The question over who the “taxi” was for needs to be answered. Tubs said in front of an Oireachtas Committee it was for him. Various other reports before and after said Oireachtas Committee meeting said it was for Niamh Tyndall from NKM. Which is it?

Also, given the cost, I think it’s safe to assume this was not a “taxi” driven by a salt of the earth Dublin taxi driver per se, but rather a chauffeur driven private hire luxury vehicle.

And if, as the linked article above is correct and RTÉ bosses knew about this 3 years ago, those heads will have to roll.

amber69

Heads won't roll. They should have already, people leaving on big redundancies, hiding behind mental health issues, the new guy is Tub's buddy. Marty flashing the pearly whites for the all irelands. They'll be pissing the publics money away again as soon as possible. Tubs will be back telling us how great he is after the summer. They'll be more world cups to go to and limos to places for the elite. Jail half of them should get and sack the rest. Misappropriation of public money and they looking indignant when questioned. Nothing will change.