Ryan Tubridy: Why Ireland is gripped by the RTÉ pay scandal

While the British media has been dominated by allegations astir a BBC presenter, crossed the Irish Sea, nationalist broadcaster RTÉ has for weeks been dealing with its own, precise antithetic scandal.

It centres astir undeclared payments made by the corp to Ireland's highest-paid broadcaster, Ryan Tubridy.

The contention has snowballed and is gripping the nation, to specified an grade that parliamentary committee hearings are being screened successful pubs.

On Tuesday, Tubridy is expected to look astatine the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) successful beforehand of 2 committees examining undisclosed payments of much than 345,000 euros (£296,800) implicit 5 years, connected apical of his declared yearly wage of astir 500,000 euros (£428,000).

Pubs crossed the state are readying to amusement the televised meetings arsenic the colonisation hears straight from the chat amusement big for the archetypal time.

Some clips from erstwhile committee hearings person been viewed much than a cardinal times connected TikTok, with galore different videos racking up hundreds of thousands of hits.

"There are precise fewer shared moments successful nationalist civilization now," says Brian Foley from the Vintners' Federation, a commercialized assemblage representing thousands of pubs.

"This communicative has dominated the airwaves for the past 3 weeks similar nary other," helium tells BBC News. "It has breached each the rules of a lifespan of a emblematic quality story."

Mr Foley says customers person been "glued to the story", joking that the levels of involvement successful the state are akin to 1979, erstwhile the Pope visited.

For weeks, viewers person been hooked connected the cross-examination of RTÉ executives by politicians.

Members of parliament took the organisation's main fiscal serviceman - who couldn't corroborate his ain wage - to task for claiming not to cognize the "full extent" of Tubridy's wage arrangement, with 1 telling the enforcement helium knew the prima "wasn't being paid successful jelly tots".

It is turning into 1 of the biggest crises for the broadcaster successful its 97-year history.

Similar to the BBC, which volition people a database of its highest salaries connected Tuesday, RTÉ besides reports what it pays its apical talent. An audit of the Irish organisation's finances recovered irregularities with what was successful the nationalist domain and what the accounts really showed.

After further reading, the corp has been accused of moving "a slush fund" - spending thousands connected flip-flops and gig tickets arsenic good arsenic millions connected a failed musical, each "while crying poverty".

Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar has said betterment of however the instauration is funded is good overdue.

"RTÉ has specified a large spot successful Irish society, truthful this ungraded was ever going to beryllium large news," freelance amusement newsman Emma Kelly tells BBC News.

"The Late Late Show successful peculiar is specified a taste touchstone, truthful erstwhile radical find retired that RTÉ and Ryan Tubridy haven't been afloat transparent, it's going to hurt."

The programme Tubridy presented until recently is not lone an Irish instauration - with a packed unrecorded assemblage for much than 2 hours each Friday nighttime - but is the longest-running late-night speech amusement successful Europe. The format smoothly flips betwixt airy amusement interviews to superior nine debate, with popular stars performing successful the workplace arsenic well.

"The full happening consciousness feels similar a betrayal," Kelly explains. "The much ridiculous details that look oregon large names that get dragged in, the harder it is to look away."

Tuesday volition beryllium the archetypal clip Tubridy has spoken publically since the ungraded was archetypal reported. He'll look with his cause Noel Kelly for hours of questioning.

Before the contention was made public, the 50-year-old stood down arsenic big of The Late Late Show aft astir 14 years, to beryllium replaced by Patrick Kielty.

He wrote successful an email to staff: "Change volition beryllium indispensable if we are to rebuild spot successful nationalist work broadcasting successful Ireland and successful RTÉ."