Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for attending and for their opening statements. I know Mr. Tubridy is fond of a small quirky fact that tells a story. I am sure he knows as well that 79% of us listen to radio daily here in Ireland, despite everything else that is open to us, from Spotify to podcasts. Like most people, we are big radio listeners in our house and Mr. Tubridy was in our kitchen five mornings a week.

That is the thing. He was that familiar voice in our kitchen. When he told us during Covid in particular, and I am sure during the recessions, that we were all in it together we believed him. That is why we feel so shattered by this story now. Mr. Tubridy has set out a strong rebuttal. It is clear that RTÉ, when they appear before us again on Thursday, will have a serious set of questions to answer. The fact remains, rightly or wrongly, that public trust in our public broadcaster and in Mr. Tubridy has been shattered. Maybe today is a start, but we will see.

I have one quick question. Is it true that Mr. Tubridy engaged the services of an internal or external crisis communications team before appearing today?