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The former Late Late Show host has not been presenting his daily radio show since it emerged he had been paid €345,000 more than publicly declared by RTÉ over a number of years.
In a statement this afternoon, RTÉ said: “RTÉ Director-General, Kevin Bakhurst met with Ryan Tubridy in person this week for a one-to-one meeting.
“They had a good, open, and constructive conversation and will meet again in a few weeks.
“RTÉ has no further comment.”
The meeting follows fiery Oireachtas committee meetings in the past weeks and the resignation or retirement of several high-ranking executives in the wake of the controversy, including Dee Forbes, who left shortly before her term as director general was due to expire.
Mr Tubridy is off air for what are described as “editorial reasons”, but has expressed a strong desire to return to his role on Radio One.
In an appearance before the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee, the former Late Late Show host said he wanted to “go back to work on the radio as soon as possible.”
“It’s what I do, it’s what I know. It’s my job, it’s all I’ve got.”
The presenter maintained before the committee that he was “dragged into a mess,” telling TDs that his reputation has been “desperately sullied” by the ongoing payments controversy at the public broadcaster.
“I’m deeply upset, I’m hurt. It’s hard to leave the house,” he said. “For what? I spent three weeks watching people tell stories.”
The RTÉ radio host has indicated that he would be willing to pay back €150,000 from two years of a commercial deal with Renault for events that never went ahead.
RTÉ had underwritten the controversial deal and paid Mr Tubridy that money through a barter account.
The spending of the public broadcaster has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks.
Details of the hundreds of transactions spent through RTÉ barter accounts included a controversial €4,956 spent on 200 pairs of Havaianas flip flops for a summer party for agencies and clients in 2016.
RTÉ has revealed that €1.6 million was spent on client entertainment and corporate hospitality over the last 10 years, including €13,730 on an Ed Sheeran concert, almost €12,200 on Bruce Springsteen tickets, and over €9,000 on tickets for Aviva Stadium corporate boxes for Harry Styles, Eagles and Westlife concerts.
RTÉ DG Kevin Bakhurst could not be drawn in recent weeks on whether Mr Tubridy will make a return to the airwaves.
The attitude of staff towards the return of the former Late Late Show host to his radio show will be a “major consideration” in the final decision, Mr Bakhurst said on his first day in the role.
He said he wants to “hear the views of staff and respect the views of staff” in the decision-making process.
Before the PAC last week, Mr Bakhurst said RTÉ still have to decide what to pay the former Late Late Show host as “he is not doing his past duties anymore”.
He said: “On Mr Tubridy’s return – I’ve been asked about this a lot from the media and obviously there’s a lot of interest and rightly so – I need to deal with that properly, there will need to be a fair process.”
Mr Bakhurst said they have “not yet settled on what [Tubridy] should be being paid at the moment”.
When asked whether Mr Tubridy was currently being paid by the broadcaster, Mr Bakhurst said: “As of this week, no… because we need to decide on what the level of that is.”
News in 90 seconds – July 20
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