She has cited health reasons for her absence.
Former RTÉ director general Dee Forbes will not attend the Oireachtas Committee on Media tomorrow due to ill health.
“She will not be attending due to health reasons,” said a spokesman for Ms. Forbes. “We have informed the committee.”
Yesterday, Ms Forbes resigned as RTÉ’s director general with “immediate effect” amidst the controversy surrounding Ryan Tubridy’s undisclosed earnings by the broadcaster.
Despite her resignation, ministers and officials, including Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin, urged Ms. Forbes to make an appearance at the Committee and answer questions surrounding the ongoing controversy which happened during her tenure.
The committee requested Ms Forbes to attend as it sees her as a key witness in its investigation into the ongoing crisis.
Dee Forbes resigns amid the ongoing crisis at RTÉ.
Ms Forbes’ resignation and subsequent statement comes after the RTÉ Board last Thursday (22 June) revealed that Tubridy’s annual earnings between 2017 and 2022 had been understated by the broadcaster.
The RTÉ Board said that Tubridy was paid over €300,000 more during this time than initially declared. It then issued an apology over the matter, describing it as “a serious breach of trust with the public”.
In a later statement on Friday, the board also confirmed that Forbes had been suspended from her employment on Wednesday, 21 June.
Over the past week, major figures in RTÉ have revealed their wages on air or through their social media channels. After being absent from her show last Thursday and Friday, Claire Byrne revealed her salary live on air on Monday morning (26 June), saying that her most recently published annual salary of €350,000 is “correct”, along with “those published in the past”.
Later on Monday, RTÉ presenter Miriam O’Callaghan published a statement where she revealed her salary and said that she has never “received additional payments from RTE that were not publicly declared.”
On Tuesday (June 27) around 200 employees at RTÉ formed a protest outside the state broadcaster’s premises. Organised by the National Union of Journalists, the protesters highlighted their frustration following revelations of the past week.
Main image via Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie
Related articles:
- Ryan Tubridy was reportedly in talks for TV comeback prior to RTÉ scandal
- RTÉ respond to reports of ‘€50 million kickbacks’
- RTÉ understated Ryan Tubridy’s earnings for six years, admits ‘serious breach of trust’
- Patrick Kielty cracks joke when quizzed about Ryan Tubridy payments scandal
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