Cash-strapped RTÉ has spent almost €200,000 on accommodation and travel for guests attending The Late Late Show from 2020, The Irish Mirror can reveal.
Figures released to this newspaper through Freedom of Information show the station has spent a total of €187,214 over the past three years, reports The Mirror.
In 2022, they spent €83,088 and in 2021 €66,177 were distributed. In 2020, he spent 37,949 euros, while many guests attended virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions.
RTÉ has not released costs for individual guests, but celebrities such as Daniel O’Donnell, Boy George and former Ireland football manager Martin O’Neill are expected to appear in the studio in 2021 and 2022.
The broadcaster will not release the same figures for guests that have appeared on The Tommy Tiernan Show as it is produced by an independent production company.
Ratings for the show hosted by Ryan Tubridy have begun to drop with average viewing figures for an episode standing at around 376,000 in March.
Last month, the host announced that he would be stepping down from his role at the end of this season, which ends in May. His replacement has not yet been officially announced, reports The Mirror.
RTÉ defended the cost of travel and accommodation when contacted by The Irish Mirror, saying they “all efforts to deliver the best possible value for money for the audience”, reports The Mirror.
He said RTE got “competitive rates” on hotel rooms from a panel, but would not reveal who was on the panel when asked.
In a statement, they told us: “As the national broadcaster with a large number of guests travelling to appear on our television and radio programmes, often at short notice, RTÉ has an ongoing need to secure hotel rooms,” reports The Mirror.
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