The new presenter of the Late Late Show Patrick Kielty will be paid more per episode than his predecessor Ryan Tubridy.
Mr Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly appeared before two Oireachtas committees on Tuesday, where he detailed his remuneration from the national broadcaster, following controversy around hidden payments provided to him by RTÉ.
Addressing the committee. Mr Tubridy’s agent revealed the presenter was paid €240,000 for his TV work. There were generally between 35 and 37 episodes of the Late Late show per year, meaning he was paid on average between €6,400 and €6,850 per episode.
In a statement when the RTÉ pay crisis first emerged, Mr Kielty confirmed he will be paid “€250,000 per 30 show season” of the Late Late Show when he takes over in September. This equates to just over €8,300 per episode.
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Mr Kielty will also receive a “one-off payment” of €20,000 to cover the pre-production and rehearsals before the show starts in 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,” he said in his statement. “I’ve also asked RTÉ to carbon offset my flights. I genuinely hope this helps clarify things going forward. I can’t wait to get started.”
The national broadcaster has been embroiled in pay-related controversy after it announced on June 22nd that it had paid €345,000 more to Mr Tubridy between 2017 and 2022 than had been previously disclosed. Some €225,000 of that was due to a deal with Renault that RTÉ had underwritten and ultimately had to pay.
Mr Tubridy was already the broadcaster’s highest paid presenter prior to these revelations, with the additional payments bringing his annual income to in excess of €500,000 for his TV and radio work during these years.
Speaking before politicians on Tuesday, Mr Tubridy said about the scandal: “My name has been desperately sullied, I think my reputation has been sullied… this has become beyond difficult.”
