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.
https://twitter.com/newschambers/status/1673257840205602817
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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