Ex RTÉ boss Dee Forbes - who was nowhere to be seen after Ryan Tubridy scandal - spotted shopping in high-end department store as it's revealed she STILL retains expensive PR firm three years after payments scandal broke

Published: 22:24, 24 May 2026 | Updated: 22:25, 24 May 2026 Former RTÉ director general Dee Forbes continues to retain one of the country’s most expensive public relations firms three years after she resigned in the wake of the first payments scandal to rock the national broadcaster. Ms Forbes – who was named this week as the person who signed off the decision to incorrectly classify presenter Derek Mooney’s pay as a producer – has refused to answer any questions about the financial scandals which resulted from her tenure. The Mail understands Ms Forbes did not reply to the latest request for answers, made in recent months by the Oireachtas Media Committee. The 59-year-old – who has previously cited ill health as a reason for not appearing before Dáil committees – was spotted shopping in Brown Thomas in Cork days before last Wednesday’s committee hearing.  Ms Forbes was in charge during the 2023 payments scandal. which was sparked by RTÉ publicly under-reporting payments to Ryan Tubridy. It was the latest in a series of sightings of her around her home province of Munster, including at a luxury hotel and a beauty salon. Her spokesperson, Paul Bradley, of FleishmanHillard PR, this week confirmed his client had, in recent days, turned down a media request for an interview, saying she wanted to focus on her health. Her RTÉ successor, Kevin Bakhurst, told the Media Committee this week it was Ms Forbes who ordered Mr Mooney be treated as a producer for the purposes of how his wages were categorised.  Dee Forbes' PR firm this week confirmed his client had, in recent days, turned down a media request for an interview, saying she wanted to focus on her health Her RTÉ successor, Kevin Bakhurst, told the Media Committee this week it was Ms Forbes who ordered Mr Mooney be treated as a producer for the purposes of how his wages were categorised. Dee Forbes and Ryan Tubridy, above, were the central figures in a major 2023 controversy regarding undisclosed payments made to the presenter by the national broadcaster Mr Bakhurst said a decision was taken by the ‘CFO [chief financial officer] and the director general’ in 2020, when Mooney was set to appear again as a top earner at the station. Instead, the RTÉ boss said: ‘They looked at his contract, which is a radio producer contract, they looked at the balance of his work, which is he does more producing than presenting.’ He told the committee: We took a different view, which is that he’s well-known as a presenter. He should be in the top 20.’ Mr Mooney now appears eighth on the 2024 list of RTÉ top-earning presenters, with a salary of €197,151. Despite repeated calls for Ms Forbes to appear before Oireachtas committees, one TD – who asked not to be named – said this weekend: ’I don’t think we’ll ever hear from her. She obviously could have spoken out at many different junctures. ‘And if she was unwell enough to appear in person, she could have written a statement. ‘Instead, we have nothing… no account of why this mess happened.’ Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.