Ryan Tubridy has officially been called to Leinster House to face a grilling over €345,000 of secret payments made to him.
If he does not come voluntarily, the Dáil has already given powers to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to compel him and others to appear. And if he still doesn’t appear, the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act 2013 provides stiff sanctions, including jail of up to five years, massive fines of up to half a million euros, or both.
€500,000 is roughly what Mr Tubridy has been getting paid annually in recent years. PAC chairman made the callout to Mr Tubridy and other ex-executives from RTE, including the last chief, Dee Forbes, during a Dail debate on Tuesday evening.
