Claire Byrne has revealed her salary live on air amid the Ryan Tubridy controversy.
The presenter took a €70,000 pay-cut when she stepped down from hosting Claire Byrne Live on RTÉ 1, but confirmed that she is still earning €280,000.
She also earned €25,000 for hosting Ireland’s Smartest.
She revealed the figure at the beginning of her radio show this morning in a bid to earn listeners’ trust.
Sharing her salary with listeners, the broadcaster said she “felt like it was the right thing to do this morning”.
“I hope you can trust me,” Byrne stated before acknowledging that her salary is “way beyond what many people would hope to earn”.
Byrne stressed that she knew nothing about Ryan Tubridy’s additional payments. She told listeners, “I wasn’t even aware that presenter’s fees, including my own, were subjected to a Grant Thornton review. I knew absolutely nothing about it.”
However, the public has slated her over the outlandish salary.
Claire Byrne in an extraordinary opening to her radio programme on RTÉ Radio 1 this morning.
Says she earns €280,000 after stepping down from her TV programme – adding that it's "heartbreaking" hearing about people losing trust in RTÉ. She says she was never offered a side deal
— Richard Chambers (@newschambers) June 26, 2023
One person wrote, “I wonder how the people working with Claire Byrne on Today with Claire feel hearing she’s earning €280k for the same radio show they’re all working on? Or the fact she got €25k for that quiz show? How are we paying so much? She would get half that anywhere else.”
Another added: “Claire Byrne doing a Holly Willoughby.”
“Really sad listening to Ciaran on Claire Byrne talking about how ordinary jobs and wages were affected during covid while RTE was topping up Tubridy’s salary- how can cost-saving measures end up with you underwriting and paying a commercial deal?” a third wrote.
Many people defended Claire and praised her for being so transparent about her salary.
“Well done Claire Byrne for your honesty and transparency. It’s really appreciated. Always a professional,” one said.
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