Over the past year, RTÉ spent over €360,000 on fees for guests and contributors appearing on its flagship television and radio programmes, reports Breaking News.
More than a third of that total went to guests on Patrick Kielty’s Late Late Show, which paid out €128,500 for appearances on the weekly Friday night programme.
According to RTÉ, that figure was divided among one hundred guests across thirty episodes, with an average fee close to €1,300 per appearance, reports Breaking News.
They noted that in some situations, one payment covered an entire band or musical group, so several individuals were paid under a single fee.
The second-largest expense was for Today with Claire Byrne, where guest fees amounted to over €68,000 between July 2024 and June 2025, reports Breaking News.
RTÉ explained that this covered 1,270 contributors, with the average payment coming to just €54 each.
Guest payments for the Brendan O’Connor Show came to €48,500, with 642 people receiving about €75 each to take part.
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Morning Ireland accumulated €39,000 in guest expenses, averaging around €63 per contributor across 624 participants, reports Breaking News.
RTÉ Drivetime paid out around €28,500 to 638 guests, averaging the lowest per-person rate at approximately €45.
Guests on Sunday with Miriam received an average of €147 each, with total costs of €5,868 for forty appearances.
Other shows included in the figures were the Ray D’Arcy Show at €21,500, Primetime at €12,277, and Six One News at €5,554, reports Breaking News.
Smaller sums were also recorded — €952 for the Nine O’Clock News and €3,077 for the current affairs show Upfront, which was discontinued earlier this summer.
RTÉ stated that it couldn’t disclose fee information for the Tommy Tiernan Show, as it’s produced by an external company, reports Breaking News.
They clarified that guest and contributor fees were paid to people including Irish and international journalists, performers, and musicians for giving up their time to be part of a programme.
However, no fees were typically paid to those appearing to promote projects like movies, books, or TV shows, nor to political figures who featured on broadcasts.
A spokeswoman for RTÉ added: “Contributor fees are a necessary and industry standard part of production to add strength and depth to a wide variety of programmes and content from expert opinion, to on the ground reporting from war zones and musical contributors for entertainment programmes. RTÉ seeks a variety of contributors from a diversity of backgrounds and pays them accordingly for their expertise and time which enhance our offering to the audience,” reports Breaking News.
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