RTÉ admits paying Tubridy €345,000 more than declared

Just wondering had that Judge the power to dismiss all the cases before him today ? As you say it's only one Judge, we need all of them that have cases before them to speak up.

thank you, kind sir

Some thoughts from Gavan Reilly:

It strikes me that RTÉ is still in very volatile territory over the underdeclared payments to Ryan Tubridy from 2017–19 - an aspect of the whole controversy which has been largely overlooked given the later focus on barter accounts and the nuances (or otherwise) of RTE’s spending.

Having Tubridy and Noel Kelly attend two Oireachtas committees next Tuesday *could* be the final ‘bad news drop’ that ends the drip feed - not the recriminations, mind, but at least mark the bottom of the downswing. You can’t rebuild until you know where the foundation is.

But what if Grant Thornton’s report comes later and raises more unanswered issues? What if - hypothetically - there’s new info about playing hardball on the previous contract, or the unexplained €120k had a basis in some other undisclosed commercial involvement with a third party? What if, what if, what if…?

In the long-term best case scenario for all concerned, Tubridy and Noel Kelly offer an unvarnished explanation of the full seven years’ business - and not leave anything behind which is when only revealed by the eventual Grant Thornton report whenever that is (not too far away, by all accounts).

If there’s anything left behind, and it takes a subsequent Grant Thornton report to get to its root, what then? A second hauling in for Tubridy and Kelly? RTE’s top brass back into the PAC to contradict the testimony of the station’s pposter boy? More license fees not renewed? More sponsors dithering about attachment to a medium with a huge footprint and a tarnished name?

Ask Marty why he gave back the car if he did nothing wrong

Why does giving back the car have folks thinking something “wrong” had to have occurred?

I expect next week play out this way...

RT expresses apologies, regret, promises to do gooder in future. He will blame RTE and his agent. They will have coached him on every possible question, and how to respond, in advance. They will make it look like he didn't know all the details.

Exactly - the only reason he's appearing is to try to save his job and €300k per year salary or whatever it is for radio. He knows financially he's ruined and will never work again if he doesn't come clean, apologize and re-win public sentiment.

Optics, of course… the world is a lot different today. People tripping over themselves to be contrite, just in case they might need to be contrite.

Well if he has done nothing wrong, two questions need to be answered.

Why did he give back the car?

Why is he looking into his tax affairs?

Get rid of RT, ban NK from dealing with RTE, and clean house of the executive board - move on with long talks with the workers and the rural Rte workers who were cut from any meaning ful engagement. Put in place rigorous financial regulations/protocols- make laws clear. Salary cap. No more contractors. Employees only

there must be repercussions- there must be standards set

Move on as a national broadcaster

Sure. Or, he knew he shouldn't have received the car in lieu of payment for services he provided and he thought if he gave it back now nobody would notice.

Unfortunately somebody tipped off Timmy Dooley, who dropped the question in very purposely last minute before his allocated time was up at this week's committee heading.

Dooley then realised he dropped his fellow county man in a heap of bother and is now backtracking trying to say its not a big deal, when he certainly wanted to make a big deal of it and go viral (which happened).

And then Marty's GAA colleague Joe Brolly weighs in to say this isn't a big deal, after making a song and dance about the Tubridy issue.

It all stinks. Marty has been caught. He will get his comeuppance.