RTÉ admits paying Tubridy €345,000 more than declared

He's interesting to watch in a 'eyes peering through fingers' sort of way.

Just when you think he can't get any worse or any more self absorbed he brings up those two lads who sadly passed in Greece on their holidays.

This man has no morals. No sense that he's an absolute to$ser with a self inflated sense of worth that saddos like Gerrity and her Ilk keep inflicting on the public.

It's the media egos plus the chip-on-the-shoulder types at this stage.

The sheer self-absorbed belief that a scandal about a minor RTE celeb who owes RTE 150k is the biggest scandal in Ireland 2023.

Or one poster who attested that they are personally owed 150k by RT

Or the posters who seem to believe that it's because of the likes of RT that their fabulousness as a producer, director, or presenter isn't recognised by RTE while simultaneously saying RTE is a joke.

It is fascinating.

He loved his salary.

Adrian Lynch appointed Deputy Director General.

I would have thought he was getting the sack by now, but appears to have received a promotion.

Failing upwards. If any of us poor dopes lost our employer 300 euro in error, we'd probably be sacked. Fritter away taxpayer's money, get a promotion.

When a struggling man does a few cash nixers during a recession while claiming the dole, the Revenue and SW dept come down on him like a tonne of bricks and both expect (re)payment.

If someone on less than €20k pa applies for some benefits they don't strictly qualify for, they are subject to the full rigours of the law and repayment and prosecution awaits. Joe Taxpayer feels very aggrieved indeed.

When Ryan Tubridy get's 150k salary top in a made up scam to get him extra dough above his stated pay, he can give his employer and the licence fee payers who fund them the finger, swan off into the sunset and buy a Tuscan villa with it. He's owes nobody anything.

The claim was "If someone owed you €150,000 you’d keep an eye on them too."

Neither the poster, nor anyone else on the thread, is owed €150,000 by Ryan Tubridy. That's a simple fact.

Look, the deal with Tubridy was monumentally stupid. We all know that. RTE should never have underwritten the payments for 3rd party work. But they did, and that's on them. Tubridy signed a legally binding contract with his employer promising him money under certain circumstances, and was paid based on those circumstances coming to pass. He owes nothing to anyone. This was 100% RTE's cockup. Going down a route that contractual payments could be rescinded after payment just because the employer decides they don't like the terms any more - or even worse, because some outside observers don't like them - would be a very dangerous precedent to set.

He paid his tax on it (so "we" the taxpayer got half of it back in any case), he didn't commit social welfare fraud - none of those comparisons are in any way accurate or relevant.

So like I say, lets just stick to the facts.

Yes , you are 100% right “NO ONE ——- “. But as a group of licence holders we, as a group, are owed exactly that amount. As RTE used out ficence fees to pay for something it never got. So there.

" He owes nothing to anyone"

Perhaps not legally and contractually. But he himself has already accepted that he hasn't done the work and would return the money if the Renault gigs don't happen. He literally said this to the Oireachtas committee.

There is greater chance of Tubs being a success on Virgin Radio than Renault asking for those gigs to be done at this stage, hence, by his own admission, the monies are due back. To RTE. To us.

Separately, as he himself accepts he hasn't yet earnt the money, not sure if he has paid tax on it, he can recoup if he never does the work.

Legally and contractually is all that matters. End of. I'ts like saying "you're technically correct..". Technically correct is the only type of correct worth being. Take the emotion and passion out if it, and just stick to the facts.

Let's be clear, any comments Tubridy made about repaying the money were in the context of his negotiations with RTE to extend his contract. So if he had taken up a new contract, the previous payments he received would have been taken into account. That makes perfect sense. However, RTE chose to close those negotiations and not offer him a contract. No former employee or contractor is under any obligation to voluntarily pay any legally acquired pay back to their previous employer. In fact, it would be absolute madness for anyone to do so.

It's patently ridiculous to speculate that he hasn't paid tax on it. Where did this even come from? Do you really think that with all the publicity around it that this wasn't investigated? If there was even a whiff that this was a tax dodge, do you really not think that the PAC would have not absolutely gone to town on it? This is one of the things about this thread. Sometimes someone comes up with some throw-away remark with absolutely no substance, and just because it suits a certain narrative, it starts to get bandied around as a plausible truth. Lets just stick to the facts, there's more than enough of them to engage in a robust debate about the entire scandal without making stuff up.

The deal was a bad one, a very bad one, but that's squarely on RTE. The money is gone, and there's no legal mechanism to reclaim it. People are just going to have to move on from it, because obsessing about things that you can't change isn't healthy.

It says much about the "man" that he didn't return the money and instead pocketed it.

The 150k (and himself) were the face of the RTE scandal, which has cost RTE up to 27 million and potentially the livelihoods of hundreds of his former colleagues.

What kind of man simply pockets that money and does not give it back? If he had it would have gone a long way to resolving people's cynicism towards RTE. And don't say its not his fault, it was clearly his fault. He was central to all this. He could have solved it overnight when it first broke by saying something along the lines of "Hands up, I was overpaid, I am giving the money back and I apologise." He didn't do that, and instead at all times claims to have been puzzled why he should give it back or why this is even an issue.

Its always someone elses's fault with Tubridy and he continues to maintain that.

No employer is ever going to ask a potential employee to pay them cash as a condition of employment. It would be completely unethical, maybe even illegal. They'd have to either hire him on his merits and their business needs, or not. What you're describing is a completely different situation to negotiations in a contract extension.

I know people want to fantasise about Tubridy being humiliated into paying this money back "to them", but we have to face reality - RTE have absolutely no comeback on their mistake with this contract.

It wasn't just RTE's mistake. It was demanded and then facilitated and by Tubridy and his agent, via the sham invoices. RTE didn't just decide out of the blue to bestow this on Tubridy. It took two to tango.

The return of the money, or some accounting for it, was part of the arrangement by which Bakhurst was going to bring Tubridy back to his radio slot. Tubridy topedoed that himself.

Tubridy pulled a scam. He can have his ill gotten gains or his reputation. But there's no way he should be back at RTE unless he pays that back, and if there's no ethical way for that to be done, then there is no ethical way back for him. He has poisoned the well. And his reputation is pond scum as far as I'm concerned while he clings onto it.

Another option would be for Tubridy to donate the money to a suitable organisation or cause, but nope, no sign of that from him either.

Remember you said focus on what can't be changed - well my view of Tubridy won't be changed while he holds onto that money. And I'm not alone.

I already covered all that with the sentence: "What you're describing is a completely different situation to negotiations in a contract extension.".

That ship has sailed.

By RTE's cock-up you mean a deal done by a handful of people in RTE who are now unwilling to talk about it or have gone to ground? They clearly had nothing to hide!

Why isn't Forbes at Oireachtas committees or publicly defending it?

that reminds me...where is your one dee gone...?