RTÉ admits paying Tubridy €345,000 more than declared

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121134146#Comment_121134146

Never underestimate the abilites of snouters to turn on one of their own when their place at the trough is threatened. They can be like cornered rats. This goes doubly so for FF. Tubridy might like the photo ops of being a TD but there's a lot of hard work involved too. The FF candidates for the presidency seem to be Bertie Ahern and Mehole Martin (though Martin probably wants a job in Brussels). Against those two, Tubridy would be outclassed in sheer nastiness. Not sure that there are enough votes in the coffee shops of SoCoDu to get him elected as a TD or president. As well as appealing to the few listeners to his ex-show, he would have to appeal to a broader spectrum of voters.

The presidency may attract Tubridy in terms of his vanity and the opportunity to stick his snout in the trough like the incumbent. The only reason Higgins is in the Aras is because RTE put him there twice. The first time, it was the fake tweet. The second was that he was the FF/FG/Lab crony candidate as FF and FG were saving money for the upcoming Local/Euro elections. About 49% of the electorate even bothered to vote in the 2018 presidential election and in real terms Higgins only got around 25% of the electorate to vote for him. That was with the Irish media backing him.

FF, FG and SF will all want to have their own candidate next time out because whoever is president could be the first president of a reunited Ireland. Wasting such an opportunity on Tubridy would be a bridge too far for FF. (WW2 and Mary McAleese metaphor in one. :) Or maybe it is an allusion? Perhaps a great writer like Tubridy would know.)

Regards...jmcc

Bulmers

he'd be mad ( aka bonkers) to go into politics. every doorstep / debate he'd be torn apart by ..well anyone.

One for a whiteboard session with Noelser..who's completely deliciously bonkers....

Hyperbollix

If Tubridy was to run and get elected, he'd be our very own Boris Johnson clone in Dail Eireann. Never turning up except for votes. Mainly on holidays. Rarely asking a question or making a contribution of any kind, except when there's a hot topic he believes would get him into the national consciousness.

As for his bread and butter constituency work!? Good luck on that!

To my mind, a bit like a certain former US president, Tubs would probably see the role of TD beneath him anyway. He wouldn't be one for the muck and bullets and his very tenuous grasp of the detail would make him very unsuitable to such a job. No, his eminence certainly sees himself as more of a presidential figure. Big house paid for my someone else. Drivers and servants at every beck and call, also paid for by others. And the chance to attend every event, ceremony, gathering and opening in the 26 counties......with no entry fee on any of them too. That's quite important.

He's really tailor made for the presidency if you think about it.

Karppi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121134715#Comment_121134715

If Tubridy was to run and get elected, he'd be our very own Boris Johnson clone in Dail Eireann

But surely he wouldn't earn the epithet that the wonderful, sharp and acerbic wit Marina Hyde gave to Boris two or three years ago, when she wrote, "Boris Johnson’s big contribution to reducing plastic consumption is not wearing condoms. Or as Gavin Williamson put it this morning: “Boris Johnson has done more for the environment than any other politician.” Quite. We don’t need a joined-up strategy to prevent climate catastrophe with the largest and most successful trading bloc the world has ever seen, because Johnson’s going to spaff our way to the higher ground, while we serve as galley slaves on his privatised sex ark.

Mr Disco

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/ryan-tubridy-texts-into-chris-evans-radio-show-with-patrick-kielty-as-guest/a1367089770.html

Jaysus that’s some barrel scraping for a tubrity story

fritzelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121135482#Comment_121135482

Screams of desperation - look at me me me, don't forget about me, I'm here

Mr Disco

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121135492#Comment_121135492

And they used the special ‘sad tubrity’ photo

Beasty

ButtersSuki threadbanned

Emblematic

@PeadarCo 19-09-2023 10:13am "Even when it comes to the 150k we still don't know who in RTE approved it and why. If the management in RTE did their job it wouldn't have been agreed or at least there would have been a proper paper trail. This focus on RT let's RTE management off the hook completely and gives them room to make the same mistakes in the future."

I think one interesting aspect of this is that on the one hand the RTE board maintain that RTE itself fully authorised the 150k yet at the same time, RTE only became aware of the payment as a result of an auditors report. I'm not sure if anyone has been questioned properly about this but it appears to be a contradictory stance.

podgeandrodge

So as someone mentioned, the photographer has been working contract for RTE for over 10 years - presumably winning every tender during this period?

No surprise - turns up as a guest on an RTE show too :)

https://www.facebook.com/rtetoday/videos/mn%C3%A1-na-h%C3%A9ireann/1909025932442587/

https://stillslibrary.rte.ie/indexplus/image/1423/070.html

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121134715#Comment_121134715

While he might be tailor-made to be a presidential candidate, Tubridy is no Boris Johnson. Johnson is a political animal and Tubridy is not. That's the problem for Tubridy. FF may want its own candidate and while Tubridy might have been a possibility this time last year, the payments scandal would be an issue and it is more recent than Ahern's problems with the Mahon Tribunal.

The presidential debates would also be a problem for Tubridy in that one of them would be on RTE. If, hypothetically, he was back in RTE either as an employee or contractor, that could be a major conflict of interest for RTE. And by then, there could have been a GE and SF could be the main party in government.

Some of Tubridy's paths to the presidency closed as soon as the payments story broke. The next presidential election will probably be one of the dirtiest for decades given what is at stake politically. I don't think that Tubridy has the instincts for that kind of a contest. Even if he paid back that 150K Euro, the payments scandal would still be brought up if he was a candidate and his opponents would exploit it.

Regards...jmcc

RoTelly

Someone mentioned the Photographer. She was on Moncreiff, I didn't listen just read a report.

She seemed to think she had it in the bag, as she doesn't know what will happen next. I expect a visit to the WRC (Workplace Relations) Who else applied for this position? and was she gifted it each year it was advertised?

The board of RTÉ did say in the committee that they felt decision being pretty much "fait accompli", is this across the board in RTÉ. Where a decision made is how it should be always.

I feel that the Executive producers of FC requested this in 2011, it was grant every 3 years after that with little to no questions being asked with in RTÉ.

I think Kevin Bakhurst might consider a full reshuffle in RTÉ. I don't think it is good to have a producer languish at FC for 15 years.

NIMAN

Tubs' next BIG gig, interviewing a couple of people at an Icelandic festival.

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/ryan-tubridy-reveals-his-next-big-gig-since-departing-ways-with-rte-cannot-wait/a2138683238.html

Gadgetman496

Kielty should totally distance himself from Tubs. Tubs sending him best wishes prior to the Late Late return and again texting into the Evans radio show in the UK the other day is simply a desperate effort on his part to keep his name to the fore in the media. There was nothing genuine about it whatsoever on Tubs part.

Cluedo Monopoly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121138556#Comment_121138556

I reckon Kielty's opening lines at his first LLS last week did exactly that. He took the piss out of Tubs and mentioned that he wasn't abusing taxpayers with expenses. I'd imagine Kielty had no time for Tubs.

evolvingtipperary101

Documents obtained by the Irish Daily Mail show former chief financial officer at RTÉ Breda O'Keeffe eventually conceded in 2020 that the broadcaster would meet Mr Tubridy's salary demands 'half way'.

RTÉ wanted Mr Tubridy to take a 15% cut, or a drop of €75,000, reducing his salary from €495,000 to €420,000 at a time when RTÉ had announced major cost-cutting measures, including its highest earners taking a 15% pay cut.

But in October 2019, Mr Kelly's team wrote to RTÉ saying: 'For the elimination of any doubt, Ryan is not prepared to contemplate any reduction in relation to agreed payments sums that arise during the extant contract.'

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121139005#Comment_121139005

Am a bit confused... where is the meeting halfway?

RTE wanted 15% pay cut.

In the except you have listed ... Tubridy is not prepared to contemplate any reduction.

HerrKuehn

Big exclusive reveal in the indo today. Tubridy is going to some book festival in Iceland and is very excited about it. Anybody know if there is a way we can be alerted if these big news stories break?

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121139005#Comment_121139005

Where is the Bould Breda? Is she going to give the public the benefit of her thoughts again??

evolvingtipperary101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121139138#Comment_121139138

Just because someone wants to meet halfway doesn't mean the other person is willing to meet them halfway. Think they eventually agreed an 11% cut after much wrangling. Apparently, there's 500 pages of emails of wrangling negotiations.

Documents Reveal How RTE Caved In On Tubridy's 15% Pay Cut (evoke.ie)

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121139262#Comment_121139262

These are the increases and decreases for Tubs

podgeandrodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121139198#Comment_121139198

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I have had a Ryan deficit recently and was spending my waking hours worried about the poor fellah. Fascinating stuff!

fritzelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121139645#Comment_121139645

One could say the "ceilings the limit" for him

downtheroad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121134541#Comment_121134541

A reunited Ireland by 2039? You're not serious?

skimpydoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121135482#Comment_121135482

How did Tubs text in?

The only way he could do this is if he has a UK mobile number as you can see below when I tried to text their number.

TinyMuffin

He’s not gone away ya know.

women in agriculture.

Claire brick might help him out

skimpydoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121139779#Comment_121139779

Harrison Gardner is also with NKM.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121138502#Comment_121138502

And the image of the Instagram post shows 105 likes. Perhaps he should get some lessons from the other RTE influencers. There's a bit about a pensions gig and then the article ends with some news about Kielty and how his first LLS had almost a million viewers. Puts that 105 likes for Tubridy's post in some perspective.

Regards...jmcc

Rubberchikken

Why the need for a minimum of 16 every week.

Have never seen fair city but I'm guessing as a soap the characters are recycled throughout the weeks covering the different storylines.

I've seen one pic recently on a post here I think of three characters from the show. Nothing spectacular. And it definitely wouldn't make me want to watch them or the show.

Rte have the ability to attempt justifying money spent on every little job so no wonder the place is choc a block with staff. They must be falling over each other.

Cluedo Monopoly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121138502#Comment_121138502

Didn't Tubs go to Iceland before on a complete junket for his radio show? I think he did about an hours work there at some interview and stayed on for a few days.

He might think twice about doing it without taxpayer monies to waste. Iceland is expensive when you're paying for stuff yourself.