Tubridy and Bakhurst in a nutshell: What led to a deal falling apart at the last minute?

On Thursday evening, it emerged that the deal to bring Ryan Tubridy back to the RTÉ airwaves within weeks had collapsed in a spectacular fashion. The presenter had been off air since the RTÉ payments scandal broke in June, when RTÉ disclosed it had understated how much it paid Tubridy by €345,000 over several years. So, what happened that led to the deal falling apart?

Mid-July to mid-August

Discussions are held between Ryan Tubridy and RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst about the presenter’s potential return to the station. Initial efforts are inconclusive and a deadline of the end of July is not kept. However, efforts continue.

August

Discussions begin to bear fruit and agreement is reached on several key aspects of the deal, including Tubridy’s hours on air and his fee of €170,000 annually. This level of income would have put the presenter outside the station’s top 10 earners and placed him in the middle of the pack on the basis of pay for hours broadcasting.

Wednesday, August 16th

Grant Thornton II report is published, exonerating Tubridy of any involvement in the decision to artificially lower his published earnings below their actual level.

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On the same day, the remuneration committee of the RTÉ board meets to consider the new Tubridy deal. At this juncture, Tubridy seems poised for a return to RTÉ. The committee neither rejects nor accepts the deal, instead agreeing that the matter of Tubridy’s proposed contract would go to a meeting of the full board the following day.

That afternoon, Tubridy releases a statement including the line: “It is also clear that my actual income from RTÉ in 2020 and 2021 matches what was originally published as my earnings for those years and RTÉ has not yet published its top 10 earner details for 2022.″

That evening, there are indications that the line is causing significant concern within RTÉ. The broadcaster writes to Tubridy seeking clarification.

Morning of Thursday, August 17th

Tubridy’s lawyers respond to RTÉ saying a table in the GT2 report confirms that RTÉ's payroll system matched the figures originally reported by RTÉ. They tell the broadcaster: “For the elimination of any doubt, our client was not in any way inferring that RTÉ was incorrect in relation to its restatements made in June 2023 in connection with the period 2017-2021 ... Certainly, our client had no intention of causing any difficulty for RTÉ in relation to his statement made yesterday.”

Thursday afternoon

Bakhurst briefs the board on his decision not to continue discussions with Tubridy, informs Tubridy and emails staff to tell them the news.