RTÉ admits paying Tubridy €345,000 more than declared

I think Sinead Crowley announcing she was leaving RTE might become more common place if folks get even a whiff of there being a possibility of Ryan returning.

It's quite interesting that now that he's admitted he'll miss the deadline, folks within RTe are saying he doesn't have a backbone.

He is not worth €100k. We have to be realistic about it, or so it has been mentioned on this thread. RTE literally hold ALL of the negotiating power. Taking into account that he has been overpaid for over a decade, If they have to, rte should negotiate with him starting at €50k a year and cleaning all of the staff toilets once a week. If he did not agree to those terms, they should offer €60k, with the toilets being non-negotiable.

I am not sure, but leaning towards that he will not be coming back. None of 'his' team will really want to work with him again. Some of the bosses in rte do not seem to want him back. Much of the staff do not want him back. I would argue that most of the public that listen to the radio do not want him back. If he comes back there will be a headache from every single angle. Mentioned here already, the unions, the advertisers, the sponsors, the licence fee payers, the public in general and a few others. Comparing that to two or three posters on here who think he was really good, just cannot be worth it for rte to gamble. They should be looking at getting rid of NK clients altogether not trying to bring one back into the fold. The one that seemed to have been the hardest to deal with in the first place.

He and his brand is toxic. End of.

He and his agent are probably hoping that the summer quiet period now after the committee hearings will afford time for the public hatred to fade a little, and he will be allowed to squirm his way back into rte.

And looking at the new boss, I'd say there is a distinct possibility of this happening. Let's hope in August they have further drop off in licences being bought, to focus the minds of the powers that be that they should drop him.

What rte needs is a Michael O'Leary type DG to sort the place out.

This KB guy looks like same old, same old. Nothing will change.

As I expected. Bakhurst is the wrong man for the job.

October? What extra facts does he need to make a decision?? He is already out of his depth.

He will allow more fuel to be added to the fire. Luckily my license is due in early Sept. I'll send it to Kevin.

I think that RTE, Tubridy and NK have been surprised at the negative reaction to their attempts to soften up the public on the possibility of his return. They've also been surprised at how big a drop off they've seen in licence fee renewals. Last couple of days have been a disaster for Tubridy and probably spell the end for him in RTE.

Noel's latest tactic is a willingness for Tubs to take any job in RTE and also threatening legal action if they don't take him back. Looks like he's finished.

The source warned that Mr Bakhurst's promise to consult 'staff' before making a final decision on Tubridy's return could set a 'dangerous precedent'.

He has to be guided by the facts and the possible costs should Tubridy decide to take legal action. What's at issue is, did Tubridy do anything legally wrong? The consensus is he didn't.

'Was it morally iffy? Perhaps, perhaps not. If, as Bakhurst says, he will consider the views of staff that begs the question - does he have the backbone or the authority to terminate his contract? It's an unmitigated mess.

'But even with all of that to consider, it's still thought he will be return,' the source said.

Another RTÉ source familiar with the matter said they believe Mr Tubridy will eventually return to his slot on the national airwaves. But they added: 'If he does come back, his show will be even fluffier. It will be a very long time before he can ask anything even approaching serious with any sort of authority.

'It's a given that, should he tackle anyone even on something inconsequential the "whataboutery" will be monumental.'

It's not quite as simple as you make it out to be.

You can't just make all the self-employed presenters RTE employees. As a semi-state employee, the job would have to be advertised and the likes of Joe Duffy et al would have to apply for the jobs, be interviewed and awarded the job. That's my understanding anyway.

And if you could do that, I don't see how it will defuse the licence fee problem. The problems in RTE go way deeper than what they pay the 'talent'.

However this pans out, there's going to be a cost.

It could be the re-establishment of Ryan Tubridy, with consequences of staff unrest, loss of Licence revenue, sponsorship lost, snouts back in the trough, public funds bail out now and forever in future, meaning increased cost to us the taxpayers.

Alternatively, it might start with a series of one-off settlements to get the "talent" issues resolved (contract law is complex, and lawyers are expensive) but I strongly believe that is necessary to achieve a sea-change. The objective should be to establish RTE as a proper public service broadcaster. There are always many excuses for not taking that bold step, and to do so would require determination, resolve and commitment. However, if it is not taken, we will spend money anyway, achieve nothing except reward the existing malady of financial incontinence, and be back in the same position in a few years' time.

Unfortunately, I suspect that there's neither the political will, nor the determination, resolve and commitment at board and executive level, to bring about this sort of restructuring. Sorry to be gloomy on a Sunday

I think you can only go to Skellig certain times of the year and they'd really frown on me pitching a tent there even if it was for the understandable and laudable personal goal of avoiding the majority of RTE content and not paying the license.

Has anyone actually suggested that "if they sort out the 'talent', then that's RTE fixed"? If they have I haven't seen it.

Tub's is a bit like the Trumper. He's not fit for the job, in no way should he be let back into it but you just get the feeling the wheels are being greased in the background for a return.

I share many posters dismay at the idea that this charlatan should return to radio to start pontificating to the nation again, and believe me he will, cos that's the only mode he has, but I am cognisant of what RTE is.

It's not Ryanair. It's not a Premier League football team. Results don't really matter. Profitability isn't the bottom line. Really talented and sought after presenters aren't a necessity. RTE just needs to be a passable PSB. Even if the licence fee income falls off a cliff, it will force the Govt to act and the deficit will be made up another way. Why would an organisation in this cossetted position have to really worry about accountability.

It's like a family business. They look after their own. The only thing that could unseat Tubs is an off colour remark about a minority or maybe a sex scandal. In that case they'd be forced to act because of performative outrage in the current climate.

A few snakey extra quid on the sly is nothing to get worked up about for the big wigs in Montrose. "Shure wouldn't we all do it if we could!"

Apart from RTE "talent" being overpaid and the questionable practices, RTE needs a publicity win and it needs it quickly before the government decides to try "fixing" it. If it was possible, it would give people who pay the licence fee a sense of ownership. It could even televise the job interviews by the "talent" and pay them a simple fee for their appearance. I think that RTE also has a problem with how it treated the cast of Fair City over the years.

The early stage of what now seems to be a licence fee protest was driven mainly by the revelations about payments to Tubridy. The latter seems to be driven by a general disgust over these payments and the mismanagement of RTE. RTE had a chance to shut the problem down earlier but once the PAC and Media committee started digging, it was beyond RTE's ability to control and a number of RTE management were forced to resign. Forbes has gone to ground and mental health issues are being blamed.

Apart from the culture and management in RTE, there is the problem of the bailout that it needs. Politically, that's absolutely toxic for TDs given the sentiment appearing online and in the media. A bailout without any change of culture or attempt to deal with the problems would be targeted by all opposition TDs.

TDs don't like having their snouts ripped from the public trough by the voters and a move to deal with the "talent" problem by RTE would be helpful and popular. It would only be part of a set of measures but it would retain control for RTE rather than having an imposed political solution which would probably be much worse. If this problem gathers more political momentum, this will drag on into September and possibly October. That's when much of the electorate is worrying about back to school costs for their children. Without action by RTE, the good ship Montrose is drifting into a perfect storm. Right now, a simple decision by RTE that Tubridy is not returning to the morning slot would reduce some of the problem. The longer RTE avoids doing this, the worse it will be for RTE.

The idea that RTE had to pay the "talent" such large fees out of fear that they would go somewhere else has been demonstrated to be rubbish. RTE's position in the media market has created a highly abnormal market where instead of broadcasters competing with each other on a level playing field, they are all playing uphill against RTE and RTE is both advertising and licence fee funded. Having the "talent" reapply, as above, would go some way towards creating a kind of balanced broadcast market. If the RTE "talent" didn't like it, they could always try to get a job with other broadcasters.

By focusing on the contractors, RTE has a set of visible examples that people can identify. It would also be seen to be doing something. It is quite cynical but it would allow RTE to get ahead of the story and it would give the entertainment journalists something to run other than press releases. RTE management has, over the decades, allowed an "us and them" issue to develop. The unions in RTE were protesting about this too. RTE is a deeply dysfunctional organisation and that will take much longer to fix. The short term solution of "nationalising" the "talent" would help RTE politically and financially. It won't appeal to everyone. But this isn't about hurting the feelings of the "talent", its agents, associates and friends. It is about RTE's survival in its current form.

Regards...jmcc