RTE has published the earnings of its 10 highest-paid presenters for 2022, showing that Ryan Tubridy earned €515,000 (£439,950).
The list is to be published annually following a controversy last year where the Irish public service broadcaster admitted misstating the fees it paid to its former star presenter.
On June 22, RTE revealed it had under-declared fees to Tubridy, prompting a crisis at the company that put a focus on its governance and financial practices.
RTE executives appeared before Oireachtas committees and were grilled over fees and perks for presenters, funds spent on entertainment for commercial clients – and almost 5,000 euro (£4,270) spent on flip flops.
Several reports have been commissioned into events at RTE, the latest of which found there were oversight failures in relation to Toy Show The Musical, which made losses of €2.2 million (£1.9 million) after a single season in 2022.
In the wake of rolling controversies, the Irish Government said reforms were needed at the broadcaster to secure interim funding and before any decision on a new long-term funding model for RTE was made.
As part of his reform plan for the cash-strapped station, RTE director-general Kevin Bakhurst pledged to cap salaries at his pay level.
Mr Bakhurst said high salaries paid to RTE presenters had been a “toxic”, “corrosive” issue, and that fees would be negotiated down as their contracts came up for renewal.
The RTE list published on Monday shows that Tubridy, who has begun a new radio show on UK station Virgin Media, earned €515,000 (£439,950) in 2022.
#Breaking RTÉ releases list of top ten on-air earners for 2022 with Ryan Tubridy, Joe Duffy and Claire Byrne among its highest paid https://t.co/z8p3Q0UbJy
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 29, 2024
Liveline presenter Joe Duffy was the second-highest earner, on €351,000 (£299,850); Claire Byrne was paid €320,833 (£274,000); Miriam O’Callaghan earned €263,500 (£225,100) and Ray D’Arcy received €250,000 (£213,570).
Presenter Brendan O’Connor earned €245,004 (£209,300); News at One presenter Bryan Dobson, who announced he is to retire in April, was on €209,681 (£179,125); Morning Ireland presenter Mary Wilson received €197,643 (£168,840); sports presenter Darragh Maloney earned €184,501 (£157,615); and environment correspondent George Lee was paid 179,821 (£153,615).
RTE also restated their fees for 2021 on Monday, with all contractors earning the same amount as in 2022 apart from Byrne, who earned €350,000 (£299,000) in 2021.
All staffers on the top 10 earners list were paid slightly less in 2021 than the following year, with Dobson on €209,282 (£178,785), Wilson on €196,961 (£168,260), Maloney on €183,738 (£156,960) and Lee on €179,131 (£153,000).
Oliver Callan, who is taking over Tubridy’s weekday radio show for €150,000 (£128,140) a year, said this salary could put him in the top 10 earners list in the coming years.
He said he had asked to discuss certain aspects of the contract but the answer was “generally ‘no’” and added that it marked “the first post-new RTE contract”.
RTE said the cost of its highest-earning presenters represents less than 1% of its total operating costs.
RTE deputy director-general Adrian Lynch said: “Today we are publishing the total earnings from RTE by our highest-paid presenters for 2022, along with the restated earnings for 2021.
“As previously confirmed by Kevin Bakhurst, going forward details of RTE’s highest-paid presenters will be published annually as part of RTE’s annual report, starting with RTE’s 2023 annual report, which will be published later this year.
“While RTE has committed to reducing the cost of its highest-paid presenters to ensure that no contractors or employees will earn more than the director-general, our presenters play an important role in RTE’s provision of vital news, information and entertainment to audiences right across the country and enable us to generate commercial revenue which is essential to fund RTE’s public services.”