Claire Byrne says she was 'happy to stay on and work' until her contract ended amid new RTE pay row

"RTÉ confirmed it had previously excluded presenter Derek Mooney from its yearly published top10 highest paid presenter list as his contract said he was a producer from 2020. It now says Mooney was the 7th highest paid presenter in the organisation last year, on €202,264 - and eighth in 2024, on €197,151."

"The 2025 figures also revealed that RT&E continued to pay presenters Ray D'Arcy and Claire Byrne even after they left the organisation in October 2025. For the remainder of the year, Mr D'Arcy received €50,000 and Ms Byrne received €47,000. RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakurst said the €97,000 in payments was "totally the right decision"."

"He said RTÉ wanted to take Ms Byrne off air after she said she was leaving so it could launch its new Radio One schedule, while he characterised the timeline around Mr D'Arcy as "effectively his notice period". He said they had employment rights and a legal fight would have cost a "shedload more"."

""I resigned from RTÉ in the summer, my contract though, ran until the end of the year, December 2025," she said. "And I made it clear, I was happy to stay on and work there until the end of my contract. "But RTÉ came to me and told me that they wanted me to finish up at the end of October.""

RTÉ confirmed it previously excluded Derek Mooney from its yearly top 10 highest paid presenter list because his contract from 2020 described him as a producer. RTÉ later stated Mooney was the seventh highest paid presenter last year at €202,264 and eighth in 2024 at €197,151. RTÉ’s 2025 figures also showed it continued paying presenters Ray D’Arcy and Claire Byrne after they left in October 2025. D’Arcy received €50,000 and Byrne received €47,000 for the remainder of the year. RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakurst said the payments were the right decision, citing employment rights and avoiding a costly legal fight. Byrne said she resigned in summer but her contract ran until December 2025, and RTÉ asked her to finish at the end of October.

Read at Irish Independent