Dee Forbes

Former Director General of RTÉ

Dee Forbes

Forbes in 2015

Director General of RTÉ
In office
11 July 2016 – 26 June 2023
Preceded by| Noel Curran
Succeeded by| Adrian Lynch (Acting)
Kevin Bakhurst
Personal details
Born|

Deirdre Anne Forbes

(1967-02-01) 1 February 1967 (age 57)
Drimoleague, Cork, Ireland
Residence(s)| Dublin, Ireland
Alma mater| University College Dublin
Website| Personal Twitter

Deirdre Anne Forbes (born 1 February 1967) is an Irish former broadcasting executive, who was the Director General of RTÉ from April 2016 to June 2023.[1][2] She was the first woman to hold the role, and the first external appointment in almost 50 years.[3] Prior to joining RTÉ, she was President and Managing Director of Discovery Networks Northern Europe.[4]

In June 2023, it emerged that RTÉ paid broadcaster Ryan Tubridy €345,000 more than publicly declared between 2017 and 2022, and incurred additional costs related to that. Forbes was suspended from her employment a day prior to the public emergence of the controversy and later issued a statement defending her record;[5] she ultimately resigned with immediate effect on 26 June.

## Early life and education[edit]

Dee Forbes comes from Drimoleague, County Cork, one of four siblings. Her parents, Vincent and Mackie, ran a bar in the village.[6][7] She attended a local primary school and then a boarding school in the nearby town of Clonakilty. She then went on to study history and politics at University College Dublin.[8]

## Career[edit]

In 1989, soon after graduation, Forbes moved to the United Kingdom, taking a position with a major advertising agency, Young and Rubicam.[9]

Forbes worked for Turner Broadcasting's European business for 14 years, at one point heading sales of advertising, and later managing the business in the UK and Ireland, which consisted of seven entertainment channels, including Cartoon Network, Boomerang and TCM. She then moved to Discovery's Western European operation, finishing as president and managing director, with 18 markets, 27 television brands and an audience of 270 million households.[10]

On 1 April 2016, it was announced that she was to succeed Noel Curran as Director General of RTÉ following a recruitment process overseen by its board.[11][12]

### Party during pandemic[edit]

In November 2020, RTÉ apologised after several top news presenters and correspondents, including Bryan Dobson, David McCullagh, Miriam O'Callaghan, Eileen Dunne and Paul Cunningham, were photographed at a retirement party at RTÉ headquarters where social distancing was not fully observed. Taoiseach Micheál Martin described the photographs as "very disappointing".[13] A month later, a health and safety review conducted by RTÉ into the gathering found that five breaches of COVID-19 protocols occurred, with up to 40 people present at the time.[14][15][16]

### Pay controversy and resignation[edit]

Main article: RTÉ secret payment scandal

On 22 June 2023, RTÉ noted that it had paid broadcaster Ryan Tubridy €345,000 more than publicly declared between 2017 and 2022, with additional costs of at least €80,000 incurred. The chair of its board said that was a "serious breach of trust with the public",[17] and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin said it was unacceptable that the expected standards of transparency and accountability had not been met.[18] The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said the secret nature of payments was a "breach of trust unparalleled in the history of RTÉ" and that RTÉ journalists spoke of how "devastated, ashamed, betrayed and angered" they were.[19][20]

It was revealed the next day that Forbes had been suspended from her employment by the RTÉ Board on 21 June, a day prior to the public emergence of the controversy, which had been under investigation for some time internally. Forbes issued a statement defending her record.[21] Taoiseach Leo Varadkar described the failure as a breach of trust and truth between RTÉ and the Government, the Oireachtas and the people.[22] On 26 June 2023, Forbes tendered her resignation with immediate effect. She noted that "As Director General, I led the discussions with the agent for Ryan Tubridy together with other RTÉ senior executives. We were keen to make a cost saving for RTÉ in respect of a contractual payment which was due to be paid. At the same time, we were attempting to retain Ryan Tubridy's services as a valued presenter and negotiate a new contract, with the agreed 15pc cost cutting target in mind." The statement decried Forbes' treatment in the way the matter was addressed.[23][24]

A statement from interim Director General Adrian Lynch on 27 June suggested that only Forbes would have had all the information to be sure that the published income figures for Tubridy were wrong, but also noted that Forbes might not agree with the understanding of the statement.[25] Taoiseach Leo Varadkar described the idea that only Forbes had this knowledge as "not credible".[26] RTÉ senior executives were invited to attend meetings of the Oireachtas Media Committee and Public Accounts Committee on 28 and 29 June, convened to question senior executives on the controversy. Forbes declined to attend both meetings citing health reasons and providing a confidential doctor's letter.[27] It emerged at the Oireachtas committee meeting on the 28 June that Forbes was asked to resign on the 16 June, without discussion with the relevant minister. The committee asked why the subsequent resignation was accepted, freeing Forbes from compulsion to attend parliamentary committee meetings, but this was not clarified.[28]

## Other roles[edit]

Forbes was a non-executive member of the board of The Irish Times from 2013 to 2015,[29] and also served on the boards of Childline and Munster Rugby.[9]

## Recognition[edit]

Forbes was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Literature by University College Cork in 2016.[30]

## Personal life[edit]

During her time with Discovery, Forbes worked out of London, Helsinki and Copenhagen, while spending weekends at her home in Glandore, which was her primary base while working for RTÉ.[10] Her partner is aerial photographer Dennis Horgan.[31][30]

## References[edit]

1. ^ ltd, company check. "MS DEE FORBES director information. Free director information. Director id :directorId". Company Check. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
2. ^ "Drimoleague's Dee Forbes gets RTÉ's top job". The Southern Star.
3. ^ AdWorld (1 April 2016). "Dee Forbes Appointed Director General of RTÉ". AdWorld.ie. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
4. ^ "Discovery Sweden gets new boss". C21media.
5. ^ Burnhill, Eleanor (23 June 2023). "Minister made aware of Forbes suspension yesterday". RTÉ.ie. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
6. ^ "The Punt: Bids in for Project Abbey". Irish Independent. 27 April 2016.
7. ^ "Death Notice of Vin (Vincent) Forbes". rip.ie. Retrieved 30 June 2023. "Dad to Deirdre (Dee), Aodhdín, Eamonn and the late Dorinne"
8. ^ "Profile Dee Forbes A Hard Old Station". Sunday Business Post. 29 September 2019.
9. ^ a b "Dee Forbes: Cork woman with impressive track record takes the top job in Irish media". The Irish Times. 1 April 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
10. ^ a b "Dee Forbes: Cork woman with impressive track record takes the top job in Irish media". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
11. ^ "RTÉ appoints Dee Forbes as new Director General". RTÉ News. 1 April 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
12. ^ Leahy, Pat (1 April 2016). "Dee Forbes appointed next director general of RTÉ". The Irish Times. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
13. ^ "RTÉ presenters apologise over social distance breaches". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
14. ^ McGlynn, Michelle (7 December 2020). "RTÉ review into retirement party finds five breaches of Covid-19 protocols". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
15. ^ Burke, Ceimin (7 December 2020). "Up to 40 people in TV reception during controversial RTÉ retirement gathering, review finds". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
16. ^ Hilliard, Mark (7 December 2020). "RTÉ review notes breach of Covid-19 protocols at retirement event". The Irish Times. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
17. ^ Goodbody, Will (22 June 2023). "RTÉ admits paying Mr. Tubridy €345,000 more than declared". RTÉ News. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
18. ^ Horgan-Jones, Jack; Power, Jack (22 June 2023). "RTÉ reveals undeclared €345,000 payments to Ryan Tubridy as top earners' contracts investigated". The Irish Times. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
19. ^ "Tubridy payments 'a breach of trust unparalled in RTÉ history' - NUJ". RTÉ News. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
20. ^ Kelly, Olivia; McGreevy, Ronan (23 June 2023). "RTÉ journalists 'devastated, ashamed, betrayed and angered' by Tubridy pay scandal". The Irish Times. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
21. ^ "Suspended Director General says she 'prioritised' best interests of RTÉ". RTÉ News. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
22. ^ Murphy, David (23 June 2023). "Taoiseach says RTÉ matters 'have to be examined' to restore trust". RTÉ News. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
23. ^ Forbes, Dee (26 June 2023). "RTÉ Director General Dee Forbes's resignation statement in full". Irish Independent. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
24. ^ "RTÉ Director General Dee Forbes resigns amid payments controversy". RTÉ News. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
25. ^ "Only Forbes could know Tubridy pay was wrong - RTÉ". BBC News. 27 June 2023.
26. ^ Halley, Darren (28 June 2023). "Taoiseach says it is not 'credible' that Dee Forbes was the only person with knowledge of payments to Ryan Tubridy". .The Irish Independent. "Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has slammed the RTÉ statement ... pinning all the blame for the secret cash fiasco on Dee Forbes. / "We do not believe it is credible that the former DG Dee Forbes was the only person with knowledge of these events,"..."
27. ^ "RTÉ pay scandal: Dee Forbes will not attend two Dáil committee hearings this week to address Tubridy top-ups 'due to health reasons'". Independent.ie. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
28. ^ Meskill, Tommy (28 June 2023). "RTÉ Board Chair questioned about resignation of Dee Forbes". RTÉ News. "RTÉ Board Chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh asked former director general Dee Forbes to resign on Friday 16 June. ... after a Grant Thornton Review was provided to the Audit and Risk Committee of the RTÉ Board. The committee then recommended that the Board seek the resignation of Ms Forbes. ... Griffin said that the resignation should not have been accepted on 26 June, when it eventually came, as it prevented the committee for calling on Ms Forbes to appear to appear before it."
29. ^ "Dee Forbes – About RTÉ". RTÉ.ie. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
30. ^ a b Teehan, Virginia (2 November 2016). "Dr Dee Forbes, Degree of Doctor of Literature". University College Cork. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
31. ^ "Horgan and Hogan (in Affairs of the Nation)". The Phoenix. Vol. 41, no. 13\. 29 June 2023.