Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Fluffy Pillows etc. were not exactly queueing up in the middle of a pandemic to fork out €75,000 per annum for whatever services might be offered. The bottom line is that Mr. Kelly was aware, entering into a really difficult period for the country and for business financially, that there was a possibility that no sponsor might exist for the remaining years of the contract, and he asked RTÉ to ensure that it would underwrite. In the event that there was nobody coming on stream in terms of sponsorship, RTÉ, and the taxpayer and the licence payer, would be left on the hook for that €75,000.