Varadkar says it is “not credible” that Forbes was the only one who knew about undeclared payments

The Taoiseach has said it is “not credible” that former RTÉ Director General was the only person who knew about the undeclared payments to Ryan Tubridy. Leo Varadkar was speaking as the RTÉ Board and Executive prepare to appear before the Oireachtas Media Committee. Among those to be questioned today are the RTÉ Board Chairperson Siún Ní Raghallaigh and Interim Director General Adrian Lynch. Former Director General Dee Forbes will not be attending due to health reasons. RTÉ released a statement on Tuesday laying much of the blame for the controversy at Ms Forbes door. It said she was at the forefront of the negotiations of Mr Tubridy's contract for 2020 to 2025 and was the only member of the executive board who knew enough about Mr Tubridy's contract to know that his publicly stated salary was incorrect. Speaking in the Dáil this afternoon, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar rejected that claim. “While the RTÉ statement from yesterday sheds some light on what has transpired, a lot of questions remain open,” he said. “We expect to see a full and open engagement at the Oireachtas committees today and tomorrow. “Certainly, we do not believe it is credible that the former DG Dee Forbes was the only person with knowledge of these events.” Deeply unsettling Mr Varadkar also told the Dáil the controversy has been ‘deeply unsettling’ – and warned that the Government does not believe four weeks is an adequate time frame for Grant Thornton to complete its second report into payments between 2017 and 2019. He noted that the people most impacted by the scandal are the general public, ‘the vast majority of whom dutifully pay their TV licence fee’. RTÉ today claimed that Mr Tubridy’s contract came to an end after he stood down from his Late Late Show role in May. It said negotiations had begun regarding his radio responsibilities; however, these have now been paused along with all other presenter negotiations. Dee Forbes Ms Forbes resigned from her position on Monday. In a statement she criticised the RTÉ Board, insisting it had "not treated me with anything approaching the levels of fairness, equity and respect that anyone should expect as an employee, a colleague or a person". "I am deeply sorry for what has happened and my part in this episode and for that, I apologise unreservedly to everyone," she added. She had been suspended from her role the previous Wednesday as the RTÉ Board prepared to reveal the controversy to the public. Oireachtas hearings RTÉ Board chairperson Siún Ní Raghallaigh and board members Anne O'Leary and Robert Shortt are attending today’s Media Committee hearing. RTÉ Executive Board members Interim Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch, Director of Strategy Rory Coveney, Director of Commercial Geraldine O'Leary, Chief Financial Officer Richard Collins are also attending. #rte #payments #ireland