LATEST: Top Kildare hotel hosted clients from RTÉ, Committee hears

A prestigious hotel located in County Kildare hosted clients from RTÉ during an event held in 2019, the Oireachtas committee was told.

The revelation is just the latest development in the unfolding RTÉ payments controversy which came to light last week.

The Irish Examiner has reported that Sinn Féin TD Imelda Munster asked RTÉ's commercial director, Geraldine O’Leary, about an event at The K Club in County Kildare in 2019.

When asked about whether she personally attended The K Club event, Ms O'Leary said: "I’d have to look back at that, I probably attended the dinner in the evening after the golf, but I don’t personally golf."

RTÉ’s chief financial officer Richard Collins also said there were transactions costing €111,000 to the organisation's barter account for travel and hotels, in order to facilitate bringing clients to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Furthermore, the committee was told that the Irish taxpayer may have been 'defrauded' over undeclared payments made by RTÉ in relation to host Ryan Tubridy.

Mr Collins added that he believed that there was 'concealment' or 'deception' in two €75,000 payments to Tubridy, which bumped his total annual fee up to €515,000.

RTÉ has said Tubridy’s contract has 'come to an end' following his decision to step back from The Late Late Show, and that negotiations around his radio show contract have been paused at present.