Former RTÉ Director General Dee Forbes Instructed Derek Mooney's Classification as Producer, Kevin Bakhurst Tells Oireachtas Committee (thejournal.ie)

• Dee Forbes instructed Derek Mooney's classification as a producer.
• Revised top earners list includes Mooney at €202,264.
• 24 staff earned over €200k at RTÉ in 2025.
• Bakhurst supports top-100 list but cites GDPR hurdles.

"RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst told the Oireachtas media committee on 20 May 2026 that his predecessor Dee Forbes made the decision to classify presenter Derek Mooney as a producer for salary reporting purposes. The revelation came during a hearing on RTÉ governance failures, almost three years after the Ryan Tubridy pay scandal. Bakhurst also faced questions about other pay issues, including the classification of Seán Rocks and the transparency of top-earner lists. The committee pressed RTÉ on its revised highest-paid presenters list, which now includes Mooney after he was previously excluded."