RTÉ admits paying Tubridy €345,000 more than declared

People need to stop referring to €150k and asking if he is going to return it. It’s a lot more than €150k that RTE are owed when you take into account how much it cost to extract the funds in cash from the barter account and the cost of putting on the ludicrous Renault events that were held. Also he had no legal entitlement to that money because there wasn’t a signed contract and the unsigned contract was for 1 year only

As an aside what sort of feckin no life idiots went to the Renault events?

The statement was completely false and showed no contriteness.

It was effectively two fingers to RTE, Bakhurst, the RTE staff and licence payers.

Continuing to deny he did anything wrong is just the worst possible strategy from Tubridy.

I firmly believe if he held his hands up in his first statement back in June, admitted wrong doing, paid back the 150k and maybe made a significant contribution to charity, most people would have forgiven him and he'd already be back on the air by now.

But he's never accepted he did wrong. I don't believe he knows how to show humility or contriteness.

Well I certainly hope the new DG in charge doesn’t start making allowances for the multiple gravy trains that have been in place in RTÉ for generations at this stage- he’s either there to sort the whole sorry piece of sh1t institution out or he’s not.

Someone above mentioned similar to “how he could even consider bringing Tubridy back in the first place”

- yeah I’m listening closely to that comment- that poster isn’t wrong in raising that query at all -

the new DG is on a honeymoon period but that period is limited- he has a silver platter chance with the ousting of Tubridy to make much more significant changes- he better fcking make them because as a taxpayer I’m paying his fcking wages -

he can’t take any sh1te from here on in with “established practices” that completely waste taxpayers money- either sort it or resign- that’s my message to him-

anything less and he’ll get the same backlash Tubridy got- that’s totally evident from the posters on this forum at least and it’s very comforting to be part of such a thread/

this hasn’t been a bitch/moan thread- practically every regular poster here over the last few days has been genuine in their views and are very respectful and balanced in thief responses to others -

well done everyone!

The only logical reason for RTE wanting Tubridy back was muzzle him and Kelly, and to keep his powerful, polical family happy. They are all part of the same establishment after all.

RTE are facing into an existential crisis. Tubridy was a loose end that needed be tied up before facing into the real storm.

When Tubridy released the statement on Wed, RTE realised he couldn't be trusted to tow the line so they cut him loose. Silver lining for them(as if they deserve it) was that their new DG came out of it lookin like Billy Bigballs.

There was never going to be an apology, I'd say even now he still believes he did nothing wrong and was entitled to everything he got. You just have to look at how he conducted himself on the radio show (I never watched the LLS with him as host other than clips of him making a balls of various interviews), he was getting paid 6 figures to do it and still he just showed up and read off cue-cards with absolutely zero preparation for half the show, then some interview which he would invariable turn around to talk about himself.

One of the last 'greatest hits' of his riffing that I heard was him reading a cue-card about technical terms related to meteorology (I think, something scientific anyway), he was struggling to pronounce some of the words (due to the usual zero preparation) and then just casually dismissed it with "I'm not reading that" and went onto the next piece of nonsense. And still RTÉ thought it was appropriate to pay this guy €170,000 to continue this obscene waste of public funding until he wound Kevin Bakhurst up with that statement during the week.

Evening all. I apologise for not having read the entire thread so if this has been said before ignore it.

I believe I heard a "half shut door" in Backhurst's statement on this. Something along the lines of T might return "at some point in the future". Now in my mind (and I have no problem if I am totally off the bat here), that to me said that RTE and Backhurst were doing an optics number on this. Look at me, I am sweeping the place clean, Tubs is gone now let's get this organisation back to business.

Or in other words, Jayzus the unwashed are not paying the license fee, we are in debt up to our eyballs and this is all because of RT the blx. So let's find some excuse to kick him to the kerb. Hey Tubs, give us a one liner that will give me an excuse to fire you cos we need those who don't like what's gone on to start giving us license money again. OK, you do that and I'll look great, everyone will be happy, the money will come in again, and I'll get you back in the family in a little while when the dust settles. What? OK great, thanks that should work.

To me it is all optics. But I am a cynic.

Well I can tell ya now my expectation is that he remains Billy Bigballs or he’ll be hearing from me and 1000s of others

I’m not paying my licence fee again until I see real change happening

Keep posting that every few pages will you- it’s a fcking frightening fact- everyone needs to see the black and white reality of this sh1t show called RTÉ’and that fact says it all - no more licence payer funding from me that’s for sure

I think Bakhurst, with this action, has really put himself in a great position.

He has basically said to everyone, "I'm the boss here, there's going to be no sh1t taken".

He can now play hardball when it comes to all the other 'stars' and when their wages are being discussed. Hasn't he already said 170k or 190k should be the max wage? If so , the likes of Joe Duffy, Claire Byrne and Brendan O'connor will have to take big cuts. But not one of them will leave cos they are still on the pigs back. In fact, he should set an hourly rate on them, instead of a salary.

He also needs to take a good look at the 1800 employees working for him, why has rte got such a huge number of staff?

I think Brendan O'Connor is probably the highest paid per minute on the radio.

€245k a year for 4 hours a week that works out at €1,180 an hour take away ad breaks news and weather he is probably only on air for less than 90 minutes each two hour show and that's working a full 52 weeks a year which he doesn't.

It’s latest effort is the. Attempt to create a brand around Marty Morrissey ie THE MARTY SQUAD. Next in line is Kathryn Thomas for this brandtreatment

This whole system of "contractors" and "talent" needs to go in the bin. It's beyond a joke that in a tiny market like Ireland where only the odd one or two very able broadcasters might be poached to go abroad, that our national PSB should he facilitating people who are in most cases effectively RTE lifers, in avoiding income tax and earning multiples of the people who work off camera. Its perverse.

Everyone at RTE should be a regular employee with a pension etc. Most of the current "talent" would gladly accept 150 - 200k to work for the nations PSB and largest media organisation. And if they outgrow it and get offered mad money in the UK, let them off and look for the next up and comer.

But how many Claire Byrne's, Brendan O'Connor's or Miriam O' Callaghan's are going to swap leafy south Dublin and the chance to work and raise their kids in a very comfortable setting at home in Ireland, for grimy Tory Britain? Not many.

Haha I'll post it daily so. I don't listen to liveline daily. I only dip in and out of it when there is a major story in that catches my attention to sort of guage opinion. I've probably listened to it less than 10 times in the past 3/4 years.

However, I've am aware of his hours and where he stands on the RTE salary scale and I'm always left very underwhelmed.

His style is unremarkable, inarticulate and to be frank, he sounds very disinterested in most topics. I could imagine he's sitting there online shopping or booking a holiday as Bridie is off on her rant. There is no innovation in format. Every time I tune in that catches my attention.

Thoroughly undeserving of that rate of salary. For that level of work he should be delighted with €100k max (taking into account habitual listeners and advertising revenue) are justifying that level.

I think Brendan O'Connor is much more intelligent and with it than Duffy however he is also undeserving of the level of pay he is on. Christ the whole thing is a mess to unravel. It really got out of control. RTE Christmas Guide cover should be interesting!

Ah look all you can do is try and keep the momentum going and all I can do is post shoite like that in the hope it helps 😛- yeah my expectations aren’t high at all TBH. and I’m not at all holding my breath o this one

There's no talent in RTÉ, just NKM's spin that the people he represents aren't incompetent fools.