Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This goes to the heart of the matter. Earlier, Mr. Kelly stated that the motivation was one where RTÉ was attempting to keep the primary sponsor, Renault, on board and locked in. RTÉ's take on this is much different. In his evidence to this committee on 28 June, Mr. Adrian Lynch said: "... there was a negotiation going on in the autumn of 2019. The negotiation was obviously not going that well or whatever, and then this idea [the commercial deal] was obviously generated that there would be some brand extensions and there would be events." From RTÉ's perspective the negotiations on Mr. Tubridy's pay were not going well. Mr. Adrian Lynch said they were not going well and that there was a problem. Was Mr. Tubridy refusing to sign that deal until the commercial aspect was introduced into the negotiation?