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\nRT\u00c9’s former director general Dee Forbes instructed that Derek Mooney be classified a producer (file pic)<\/p>\n
D\u00e9j\u00e0 vu, Groundhog Day, so claimed TDs as RT\u00c9 executives lined up at the Oireachtas Committee on Media for questions amid a pay controversy.<\/p>\n
While the hearing didn’t bring the same jaw-dropping moments of 2023, there was still plenty to digest.<\/p>\n
Here are 10 key takeaways:<\/p>\n
1. Mooney’s Money<\/p>\n
For 2023 and Ryan Tubridy, read 2026 and Derek Mooney.<\/p>\n
The committee heard more details of how the veteran presenter came to be classified as a producer and so, his earnings not included in the list of top 10 earning presenters.<\/p>\n
RT\u00c9’s former director general Dee Forbes instructed that Derek Mooney be classified a producer for the purpose of presenting his pay.<\/p>\n
\nRT\u00c9’s former director general Dee Forbes instructed that Derek Mooney be classified a producer (file pic)<\/p>\n
RT\u00c9’s Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch confirmed Ms Forbes made the move in 2020 – saying an instruction came from the Chief Financial Officer to a person in RT\u00c9’s payments department – “but that it was per DG, which is the important piece”.<\/p>\n
The Green Party’s Malcolm Noonan asked why Mr Mooney was classified as a producer – when his weekly nature programme on Radio 1 was always assigned a producer, including former station head Anna Leddy.<\/p>\n
RT\u00c9’s Director General Kevin Bakhurst explained that 75% of Mr Mooney’s workload is as a producer, with the remainder as a presenter.<\/p>\n
Fianna F\u00e1il’s Peter “Chap” Cleere queried this.<\/p>\n
“If somebody’s on the highest scale as a producer and they give them \u20ac90k plus, does that mean Mr Mooney was getting \u20ac110,000 a year to present a show maybe an hour a week? For a few birds singing?” he asked.<\/p>\n
Mr Bakhurst said he does not just do one hour a week and that the Dawn Chorus takes a whole year to set up.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s not a question of hours, that\u2019s [Dawn Chorus] a seven-hour programme, an international programme, that requires a whole year of setting up and liaising,” he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Bakhurst said Mr Mooney didn’t benefit financially from the way his pay was presented by RT\u00c9.<\/p>\n
He couldn’t explain why the issue of how his pay was presented only came to light now.<\/p>\n
2. What about Ryan Tubridy?<\/p>\n
Kevin Bakhurst told the committee how thousands of documents had been handed over to Mr Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly.<\/p>\n
However, Mr Tubridy and Mr Kelly had appealed to the Data Protection Commissioner, saying more documents were in RT\u00c9’s possession.<\/p>\n
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\nNoel Kelly (L) and Ryan Tubridy pictured in 2023 (Pic: Collins)<\/p>\n
Mr Bakhurst said RT\u00c9 had paid Arthur Cox solicitors over \u20ac100,000 for dealing with the matter.<\/p>\n
3. Mentioning Tubs – what of the Late Late?<\/p>\n
Kevin Bakhurst confirmed contingency planning is under way should Patrick Kielty not return for the next season of the Late Late Show.<\/p>\n
He said RT\u00c9 was still negotiating with the Down native and wanted him back at the helm of the long-running chat show.<\/p>\n
The longer time goes by, the more speculation will grow on what’s behind the delay in confirming the host for another season and indeed who might replace him should he leave.<\/p>\n
4. Marty Morrissey on the brain<\/p>\n
Mary Morrissey’s dancing skills came under fire as Fianna F\u00e1il’s Peter “Chap” Cleere asked whether RT\u00c9 staff who appear on Dancing with the Stars get a payment as well as their salary.<\/p>\n
RT\u00c9 Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch said: “So we had two contestants – one was Marty Morrissey, who was not paid and the other person was Des Cahill, who is a contractor.”<\/p>\n
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\nMarty Morrissey with his dancing partner Ksenia Zsikhotska in 2018<\/p>\n
Committee Chair Alan Kelly accused Deputy Cleere of having “Marty on the brain”, to which he retorted “well, he didn’t deserve to get paid with some of the quality of his dancing”.<\/p>\n
Ouch.<\/p>\n
Mr Cleere is a former Kilkenny hurler so one wonders whether he still remembers a Marty commentary of a Cats defeat.<\/p>\n
Either way, the committee heard how Deputy Cleere might be renowned for his Charleston, so at least we know who’ll appear on next year’s Dancing with the Stars.<\/p>\n
RT\u00c9 Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch said he would check if anyone else from the organisation who appeared on the show was paid a fee for doing so.<\/p>\n
5. Familiar faces<\/p>\n
Tense exchanges ensued when Kevin Bakhurst was quizzed by a familiar face around Montrose – Evanne N\u00ed Chuilin.<\/p>\n
The now Fine Gael Senator took the Director General to task about her experience working for RT\u00c9 Sport – including as a presenter of several programmes.<\/p>\n
“I presented for your organisation for more than 10 years and worked there for more than 20 years. I presented for 10 years and I asked repeatedly for a presenter contract but I was never given a presenter contract and I should have been,” she said.<\/p>\n
Ms N\u00ed Chuillin indicated she was classified in RT\u00c9 as a multi-media journalist with a maximum salary of \u20ac69,000.<\/p>\n
Ms N\u00ed Chuillin said she had been given a presenter’s allowance of \u20ac10,000 but this was taxed at 50% and not pensionable.<\/p>\n
She said it feels RT\u00c9 is getting away with a two-tier system.<\/p>\n
“I was good money, I was worth the money that you paid, you got good value out of me,” she put it to her former employer, adding that she felt she was treated poorly by certain people in RT\u00c9.<\/p>\n
Mr Bakhurst insisted he was trying to fix the system too and that he has rejected senior well paid people coming to him looking for more money.<\/p>\n
“I say no, more than I say yes,” he insisted.<\/p>\n
Watch: Evanne N\u00ed Chuilinn says ‘two-tier system’ at play in RT\u00c9<\/p>\n
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Another familiar face to quiz Mr Bakhurst was news anchor-come Fianna F\u00e1il Senator Alison Comyn.<\/p>\n
She called on RT\u00c9 to release a list of all presenters paid over \u20ac100,000.<\/p>\n
Mr Bakhurst said he would be happy to publish a list of RT\u00c9’s top 100 earners but GDPR rules might prevent such a move.<\/p>\n
6. Prague play-off<\/p>\n
Kevin Bakhurst defended the decision to send 41 staff to Prague for March’s World-Cup play-off defeat to Czechia.<\/p>\n
“The whole nation was discussing it – it’s exactly the kind of public service broadcasting we should be doing – bringing the country together”, he said, adding how the match garnered a “record audience”.<\/p>\n
In total, 21 of them “went for radio”, and “the amount of commercial revenue that was driven by those radio programmes – in terms of extra advertising and sponsorship – more than paid for all those people to go – in fact they made a profit,” he explained.<\/p>\n
“To send them it was probably about 25,000 all in”, he said, later clarifying that this was for the 21 radio people, as he hadn’t gone through the TV costings.<\/p>\n
“The TV costings I haven’t got through yet.”<\/p>\n
The DG said none of the RT\u00c9 board went and that he had refused an invitation to go.<\/p>\n
However, Fine Gael Senator Garret Ahearne wasn’t impressed saying he couldn’t get a flight to Prague himself for less than \u20ac600.<\/p>\n
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