The new list of top 10 earners in RTÉ is split between presenters and executives, following the introduction of salary caps at the national broadcaster.
Joe Duffy was RTÉ’s highest-paid presenter in 2024, earning €351,000, according to figures from RTÉ’s 2024 Annual Report.
Duffy, who retired in June after 37 years at the State broadcaster, became the highest-paid presenter after the departure of Ryan Tubridy at the height of the payments controversy in 2023.
Claire Byrne was the second highest paid presenter last year, earning €280,000. In August, Byrne announced she was leaving RTÉ to take up a new role at Newstalk.
Claire Byrne was RTÉ’s second highest-paid presenter last year, earning €280,000. Photograph: Conor McCabe
RTÉ’s top 10 overall highest earners for 2024 are as follows:
Presenter Joe Duffy: €351,000Director general Kevin Bakhurst: €339,954Deputy director general Adrian Lynch: €292,285Director of operations, technology and transformation Richard Waghorn: €287,120Managing director of news & current affairs Deirdre McCarthy: €281,197Presenter Claire Byrne: €280,000Director of human resources Eimear Cusack: €274,694Presenter Patrick Kielty: €257,657Presenter Miriam O’Callaghan: €246,708Presenter Brendan O’Connor: €244,099
RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire
The figures for management include salaries plus separate pension contributions and allowances. In 2023, RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst announced that no one at the broadcaster would earn more than his salary of €250,000.
The top 10 highest-paid presenters for 2024 are as follows:
Joe Duffy: €351,000 (2024); €351,000 (2023)Claire Byrne: €280,000 (2024); €280,000 (2023)Patrick Kielty: €257,657 (2024)Miriam O’Callaghan: €246,708 (2024); €263,500 (2023)Brendan O’Connor: €244,099 (2024); €245,004 (2023)Ray D’Arcy: €220,409 (2024); €250,000 (2023)Mary Wilson: €209,545 (2024); €199,194 (2023)Dáithí Ó Sé: €196,885 (2024)George Lee: €195,939 (2024); €185,674 (2023)Darragh Maloney: €194,902 (2024); €186,650 (2023)
Ray D’Arcy, one of the broadcaster’s highest paid individuals in recent years, left RTÉ earlier this month after his contract was not renewed.
Former RTÉ presenter Ray D’Arcy earned €220,409 in 2024. Photograph: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin
Mr D’Arcy told The Irish Times he was “completely blindsided” by RTÉ’s decision to not renew his contract, claiming he was asked by the national broadcaster to not tell his team or listeners about the development.
Figures from the annual report, approved by Cabinet on Wednesday, show RTÉ received about €222 million in support from the State and licence fee income in 2024, along with commercial revenues of about €160 million.
The Late Late Show host Patrick Kielty earned €257,657 from RTÉ in 2024.
RTÉ’s revenue declined due to a significant drop in income from the television licence fee in recent years.
State funding for RTÉ rose by €29 million last year but Minister for Communications Patrick O’Donovan has warned the station that Government support “is not bottomless”.