The incoming host of The Late Late Show, Patrick Kielty, will be paid €250,000 per 30-show season.
The TV and radio presenter and and comedian revealed his pay deal with RTÉ after the under-fire broadcaster told an Oireachtas committee on Wednesday it would be willing to make the figure public if Mr Kielty agreed. RTE’s interim director general, Adrian Lynch, told the Oireachtas Arts and Media Committee there were “two parties to that deal so it will depend on the other party” and if Mr Kielty was “satisfied” then “we can publish it.”
It had been expected that Mr Kielty’s pay terms would be published after a meeting of the remuneration committee of RTÉ's board on Friday. However, on Thursday lunchtime Mr Kielty went public with the details of the deal, issuing a statement through a PR agency.
Mr Kielty said he was “pleased to finally be able to share that I’ve signed a three season deal to host The Late Late Show beginning this September”. If additional shows are requested by RTÉ, he said, these would be paid “on a pro-rata basis”.
“I’m also receiving a one-off payment of €20,000 to cover the pre-production and rehearsals from now to September.
“The contract allows me to submit flight and accommodation expenses, but I’ve waived this.
“I’ve made it clear to RTÉ that I will be covering my own flights and accommodation costs.
“I’ve also asked RTÉ to carbon offset my flights,” he said.
Mr Kielty said he “genuinely” hoped “this helps clarify things going forward,” adding: “I can’t wait to get started.”
RTÉ and its flagship programme, The Late Late Show, have been in crisis since last week, when it emerged it had under-reported the salary of its top earning presenter, the former Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy, by €345,000 from 2017-2022.
Mr Kielty, from Dundrum, Co Down, was unveiled in May as the new host of The Late Late Show and will take over as the programme’s presenter in September.
Following the announcement, he said he was “absolutely thrilled” to be its next host and said it was a “real honour” to follow in the footsteps of former hosts Gay Byrne, Pat Kenny and Ryan Tubridy.
“I can’t thank RTÉ enough for giving me the chance to be a part of the next chapter of such an iconic show.
“I’m also genuinely humbled to become part of Friday nights for so many Irish people, at home and around the world,” he said, adding “I can’t wait to get started on one of the greatest jobs in television.”
The Late Late Show was first broadcast in 1962 and is one of the world’s longest-running late-night chat shows.
