Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious of the exit fee of €120,000 that was referred to. I am also conscious that it is the subject of a Grant Thornton report. For anybody looking in at that, most people are familiar with the term "balloon payment" where you have a payment at the very end and that reduces your payments in the immediate term. If there was a balloon payment at the end of a contract, that would substantially reduce the declared income each year for Mr. Tubridy. If the €120,000 had to have been paid, would the declared income of Mr. Tubridy have increased by €120,000? Can Mr. Lynch see how that would be a significant issue when RTÉ was looking for a 15% reduction from everybody else? Not only am I suggesting that this is an orchestrated instrument to reduce his payments, I am also suggesting that putting the exit payment, or the balloon payment, at the end, that also sought to reduce his annual declared income over several years.