RTÉ Payments Scandal

Toy Show the Musical drove €2.7m losses at RTÉ in 2022

Broadcaster published 2022 annual report, which was signed off on two days before secret payments scandal broke

Siún Ní Raghallaigh, chair of the RTÉ board: “The Annual Report for 2022 represents a particular moment in time for RTÉ, a time when a different culture was prevalent. But now we must deal with the legacy of this siloed and dysfunctional culture.” Picture: Sam Baol/Rolling News

RTÉ recorded a loss of more than €2.7 million in 2022, which was almost entirely related to losses incurred by Toy Show, The Musical.

Detail included in the national broadcaster’s annual report for 2022 have also showed that members of the RTÉ independent board signed off on the document on June 20, two days before the scandal related to understated payments to Ryan Tubridy first emerged.

The publication of the report has come following an urgent review of the document by New Economy and Recovery Authority (NewERA), a recession-era body within the National Treasury Management Agency which provides financial and commercial advice to government departments on state companies.