RTE has said no member of it's executive board other than former Director General Dee Forbes could have known the public was misled on payments to Ryan Tubridy.
In a lengthy statement this evening the broadcaster said the then Director General and the former Chief Financial Officer negotiated the deal.
It as more details are emerging around the secret payments to Ryan Tubridy in 2020 and 2021 which brought his salary about what was publicly declared.
There were also payments found between 2017 and 2019 however a review is still being carried out into these and therefore there are few details.
Some staff at RTÉ held a protest on the broadcaster's campus in Dublin 4.
Employees have been voicing their frustration with management in the wake of the underreporting of payments worth €340,000 to Ryan Tubridy.
RTE staff are starting to gather at the plaza outside the offices of the organisation to protest at the recent scandal surrounding the State broadcaster.
Many are holding placards that state ‘Truth Matters’ pic.twitter.com/xtJrEsYWrr
— Barry Whyte (@BarryWhyte85) June 27, 2023
Earlier today, The Department of Media announced an external review into governance at the public broadcaster following the revelations.
It's expected that this review will take a number of months to be carried out.
A two or three person team will also examine the relationship between management and staff in the wake of revelations about hidden payments to Ryan Tubridy.
Cabinet discussed the proposals this morning and expects the work to be completed in a matter of months.
Minister Catherine Martin said in a statement earlier that "the revelations from RTÉ this past week are unacceptable and damaging to both RTÉ and to public service broadcasting in general."
She continued to say, "trust and confidence have been broken and it is essential that RTÉ puts the full facts on the public record as a matter of urgency, to avoid further damaging public trust."
Former Director General of RTÉ Dee Forbes will not be attending an Oireachtas Media Committee for 'health reasons'.
The powerful Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee is due to discuss the secret payments at a meeting on Thursday.
