RTÉ suspends DG for secret payments
June 23, 2023

RTÉ, Ireland’s national broadcaster, has suspended its director general over secret payments of €345,000. The board suspended Dee Forbes after the payments to TV and radio presenter Ryan Tubridy, between 2017 and 2020, came to light in an internal audit. The board apologised for what it said was a betrayal of public trust.
Catherine Martin, the minister for media, said she was “deeply concerned”. The RTÉ branch of the National Union of Journalists expressed anger and was to hold an emergency meeting on June 23rd.
The revelation will undercut RTÉ’s long-running attempt to obtain more funding by overhauling the licence fee funding model.
Tubridy hosted the flagship TV chatshow The Late Late Show. In a statement he said it was up to RTÉ to explain the “errors” in its accounts.