Only Forbes could know Tubridy pay was wrong - RTÉ
Dee Forbes resigned as director general of RTÉ on Monday
At a glance
No member of the RTÉ executive board other than Dee Forbes could have known figures published for Ryan Tubridy's pay were wrong, according to RTÉ's interim director general
Former director general Dee Forbes has resigned over RTÉ's pay deal with The Late Late Show host
Earlier, a spokesperson said she would not be questioned by members of the Irish parliament about the undisclosed payments
Staff at the Irish public broadcaster have protested over the pay scandal
- Published
No member of RTÉ's executive board could have known figures published for Ryan Tubridy's pay were wrong other than former director general Dee Forbes, RTÉ's interim deputy director general has said.
Tubridy received €345,000 (£296,000) over what RTÉ declared from 2017 to 2022.
A spokesperson for Ms Forbes, who has resigned, said she will not be questioned by members of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) media committee due to ill health.
RTÉ staff, many of whom had their pay frozen in recent years, staged protests outside their offices on Tuesday.
In the statement, RTÉ's interim deputy director general Adrian Lynch said: "No member of the RTÉ executive board, other than the director general [Dee Forbes], had all the necessary information in order to understand that the publicly declared figures for Ryan Tubridy could have been wrong."
He added that Ms Forbes "has not had the opportunity to respond to the details set out below and may therefore challenge or disagree with our understanding and position."
RTÉ staff expressed their anger over the payments by protesting on Tuesday
About 200 RTÉ employees joined demonstrations organised by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Tuesday.
They feel a sense of "utter betrayal" by their employer because of the secret payments, according to Stuart Masterson, chair of the RTÉ trade union group.
He said that "behind every big name, earning hundreds of thousands, are ordinary workers, men and women who are not on high wages, doing their very best to deliver public service broadcasting".
RTÉ is funded by a licence fee and the government has insisted that management must provide full clarity on payments made to Mr Tubridy.
Ryan Tubridy is RTÉ's highest-paid presenter
Earlier, Irish Media Minister Catherine Martin said the public "wants to know who signed off on the payments", and who else was involved or aware of them.
"Trust and confidence have been broken and it is essential that RTÉ puts the full facts on the public record," she added.
Ms Martin has already ordered an external review into the governance and culture at Ireland's national broadcaster.
Last week, the joint Oireachtas committee on tourism, culture, arts, sport and media said it would invite RTÉ's boss and executives to explain the payments.
Ms Forbes was suspended last week and then resigned with immediate effect on Monday.
She had been director general for almost seven years, having taken up the post in July 2016.