RTÉ chief executive Kevin Bakhurst defends additional payments made to presenter Patrick Kielty, according to multiple reports. Bakhurst says the payments are justified and responds to public questions about the arrangement. The comments come amid scrutiny of RTÉ spending and remuneration for high-profile roles.
In related statements, Bakhurst also indicates he would like to see matters concerning his own pay addressed as part of ongoing discussions. His position is presented as an effort to move the organisation toward clarity on compensation while continuing to address concerns raised by staff and the public.
The reports focus on Bakhurst’s public justification for Kielty’s extra payments and his remarks about resolving outstanding issues around his own remuneration. Neither source provides detailed figures or the full contractual basis in the excerpted material, but both agree that Bakhurst is responding directly to the controversy and calling for further pay-related matters to be settled.
