Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin has branded the revelation that former Late Late Show presenter Ryan Tubridy received undisclosed payments of almost €350,000, "unacceptable", adding that she is "concerned" about the news.
The shocking discovery has also prompted a dismayed reaction from the RTÉ Trade Union Group, which expressed "shock and disappointment".
The reaction from the trade union group and the minister comes after the RTÉ board said that between 2017 and 2022, Tubridy received a series of payments totalling €345,000 above his published annual salary, which were not declared to the public or the Oireachtas.
READ MORE: RTE apologises as it emerges Ryan Tubridy was paid €345,000 more than declared in annual salary
In a statement, the Green Party minister explained that she was "concerned" about the revelations regarding Ryan Tubridy’s pay adding it is "unacceptable" that RTÉ has not met the highest standards of "transparency and accountability" that the public should expect.
The minister said: "I was advised in March 2023 that an issue had come to light in the course of the audit of the RTÉ 2022 accounts and that a fact-finding review had been commissioned by the Audit and Risk Committee of the RTÉ Board.
"I am extremely concerned at the details which were contained in RTÉ’s statement today, on foot of that review being completed.
"I have spoken with the RTÉ Chairperson today, and have subsequently written to her requesting that she meet with me and officials of the Department. The meeting has been arranged for Monday.
"I have asked the Chair to set out in that meeting, in detail, the issues involved, the steps the Board is taking to deal with the matter, the follow on action that will be required, and the timeline for these actions.
"The public rightly expect much higher standards of transparency and accountability from Ireland’s Public Service Broadcaster.
"It is unacceptable that these have not been met. It will be critical for the Board to identify whether there are wider governance issues that need to be examined and addressed, and to ensure that there is appropriate accountability for what has occurred.
"It will be equally important for the Board to demonstrate that it is putting in place appropriate structures and processes to prevent a recurrence of a matter of this nature."
Alongside Catherine Martin, the RTÉ Trade Union Group "expressed shock and disappointment" at today's revelations about undisclosed payments made to Ryan Tubridy.
Chair of the TUG, Stuart Masterson, said: "This is a significant breach of trust with staff and their representatives, with Government and with the Irish Public. RTÉ have done immense damage to the relationship with staff.
"This happened at a time when staff were engaged in cost-cutting negotiations with management.
"We would expect the investigation is conducted in a completely open and transparent manner and we will be requesting a meeting with the Chair of the Board to get a better understanding of why and how this happened."
