Dee Forbes: RTÉ Boss Who Vanished for 3 Years Finally Exposed | Watchdog Witness

Last Updated on 27 July 2026 by Watchdog Witness

Introduction: The Woman Who Ran RTÉ — and Then Vanished

For over three years, Dee Forbes has been the ghost at the feast of Ireland’s biggest ever media scandal. The former RTÉ director general, who presided over the broadcaster during a period of secret payments, hidden accounts, and lavish corporate spending, has refused to answer questions about her role. She cited ill health. She hired lawyers. She disappeared from public view.

But now, after three years of silence, Dee Forbes has been photographed enjoying the sunshine in a West Cork beer garden . She was spotted twice in the past week at Hayes’ gastropub in Glandore, near her home, laughing with friends and sporting a deep tan .

She wore a striking black and white sundress, showed off her jewellery and watches, and arrived in her partner’s Mercedes .

The photographs have ignited fury across the political spectrum — and raised an uncomfortable question: If she’s well enough to socialise, is she well enough to answer questions?

As PAC Chair John Brady put it: “An investigation without the former director general is like Hamlet without the prince” .

Who Is Dee Forbes?

Dee Forbes, now 59, was appointed director general of RTÉ in 2016. She was the first woman ever to hold the position and the first external appointee since 1963 .

Born in Drimoleague, Co Cork, where her parents ran the East End bar, she moved to the UK in 1989 and built a highly successful career in media, including high-ranking management positions with some of the biggest names in international television . She was chair of the Commercial Broadcasters Association in the UK and sat on the board of Munster Rugby .

She was, by all accounts, an impressive appointment — a Cork woman who had made it to the top of the media world. But her tenure at RTÉ would end in disgrace.

The Scandals That Rocked RTÉ

Under Dee Forbes’s watch, a series of scandals erupted that would convulse Ireland’s national broadcaster and shake public confidence to its core.

The Hidden Payments to Ryan Tubridy

In June 2023, the payments scandal exploded. It emerged that €345,000 worth of payments to Ryan Tubridy since 2017 had been hidden from the public. RTÉ’s chief financial officer told the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee that when Deloitte queried the payment discrepancy, he approached Forbes, who told him the payments were “consultancy invoices relating to Noel Kelly Management” . It later became clear that Forbes gave this explanation months after the invoices were issued — not in advance .

The Secret Barter Accounts

A report by accounting firm Mazars revealed a culture of unaccountability at RTÉ. The barter account — used to swap advertising for gifts — was known to only one member of the board: Dee Forbes . No contracts were signed, there was no approved list of payment-authorisers, no commercial rationale for using the account was discovered, and no cap was placed on payments . The account was used for rugby tickets, 5-star meals, and even Havaianas flip-flops .

The Sweetheart Exit Package

Forbes signed off on a €450,000 exit package for former chief financial officer Breda O’Keeffe — without the approval of the executive board .

The Mooney Reclassification

In May 2026, Forbes’s successor Kevin Bakhurst revealed that it was Forbes who personally decided that presenter Derek Mooney would be reclassified as a producer — camouflaging his place in the top 10 highest-paid presenters at the station .

Toy Show: The Musical

On Forbes’s watch, Toy Show The Musical overstated sponsorship revenue by €75,000, and there was little or no interrogation of the finances behind the project .

“Where is Dee Forbes?” — The Three-Year Disappearance

When the scandal broke in June 2023, Forbes was initially expected to appear before the Oireachtas committees. But she resigned, citing ill health. And then she vanished.

For three years, she refused to appear before any Oireachtas committee. Her lawyers told the Media Committee in November 2025 that she was “not fit or able” to attend — even by video link — and that she remained “under active medical care” . She also refused an offer to submit a written account of her role .

One former RTÉ executive told this newspaper he had seen her on a flight to Portugal . She was spotted shopping at the beauty counter at Brown Thomas in Cork and at a luxury hotel in Munster .

But she never answered the questions.

As Miriam Lord famously wrote in The Irish Times: “Where is Dee Forbes? Under the bus, was the general consensus in the committee room” .

The Photographs: Socialising in West Cork

The photographs published by the Irish Mail on Sunday show a very different picture from the one her lawyers had painted .

• Smiling and laughing with friends at Hayes’ Bar in Glandore
• Wearing a striking black and white sundress and a black raffia hat
• Sporting a deep tan
• Arriving in her partner’s Mercedes
• Enjoying the sunshine at a bar voted the best gastropub in Cork two years ago 

The images are a devastating blow to the narrative that Forbes has been too ill to participate in any process.

The Political Reaction: “If She Can Shop and Travel, She Can Answer Questions”

The response from politicians has been swift and furious.

John Brady TD (Sinn Féin), Chair of the Public Accounts Committee:

“I am delighted to see the improvement in the health of Ms Forbes. Should she co-operate with inquiries, her evidence will play a critical role in bringing finality to a saga that has gone on too long and done serious damage. An investigation without the former director general is like Hamlet without the prince. Her testimony is needed to bring a sense of closure and accountability that is required not only for politicians but the public to regain confidence in RTÉ” .

Michael Carrigy TD (Fine Gael), member of the Oireachtas Media Committee:

“The Committee would be very interested, subject to the health of Ms Forbes in hearing the testimony of the former director general. Hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money has been spent bailing out RTÉ, hundreds of millions continue to be spent, and Ms Forbes should explain how we got there” .

Sinead Gibney TD (Social Democrats), also a member of the Media Committee:

“I think if there’s new information about her availability, then that’s something we will have to look at. I think it would be very helpful if she came forward now. There are still unanswered questions and it would help the committee hugely to speak with her” .

A Government minister told the MoS:

“If Ms Forbes is better I am pleased for her. But the first thing she needs to do is have the decency to attend the appropriate Committees and provide a full and factual explanation of her time in RTÉ” .

Brenda Power, writing in the Daily Mail, made the most devastating comparison:

“We’ve had abuse survivors summoned to testify to redress boards, terminally ill Marie Fleming gave powerful evidence to the High Court in her right-to-die case, and Vicky Phelan was able to address two separate Oireachtas committees, on health and public accounts, while battling end-stage cervical cancer. If Ms Forbes is well enough to shop and travel, then she’s well enough to provide the information she owes the people who funded her spending sprees while in RTÉ” .

The Unanswered Questions

The photographs of Forbes in West Cork have reignited calls for her to finally testify. There are still a raft of unanswered questions that only she can answer :

1. What did she know about the hidden payments to Ryan Tubridy, and when did she know it?
2. Why was she the only board member who knew about the secret barter account, and what was it really used for?
3. Who else was involved in the decision to sign off the €450,000 exit package for Breda O’Keeffe?
4. Why did she reclassify Derek Mooney as a producer, and were there others?
5. How much did she know about the financial mismanagement of Toy Show The Musical?
6. Why did she repeatedly tell the Oireachtas that RTÉ was in financial crisis while allowing lavish corporate spending to continue?

The Cover-Up

The pattern is clear. Forbes has used ill health as a shield, refusing to appear before the committees while continuing to live a normal life — shopping at Brown Thomas, flying to Portugal, dining in gastropubs, and enjoying the sunshine in West Cork.

She retains a spokesman at the prestigious public relations firm Fleishman Hillard, who said he would contact her for comment on the photographs but none was forthcoming .

A member of RTÉ’s National Union of Journalists branch put it bluntly:

“It’s very hard to believe these people are too sick to answer questions when they’re pictured at a party or the pub” .

Why This Matters for Watchdog Witness Readers

This story is the essence of what Watchdog Witness exists to expose: a powerful figure who ran a public institution with contempt for transparency, accountability, and the taxpayer.

Dee Forbes has hidden behind lawyers and illness for three years while the scandals she oversaw continued to unfold. She has refused to answer questions about how taxpayer money was spent. She has refused to explain the culture of unaccountability at RTÉ.

Now, photographs show her living a normal life while the people of Ireland — who funded her tenure through their licence fees — continue to wait for answers.

She owes the public the truth. And she is running out of excuses.

Sources and Citations

1. Daily Mail – “PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: Three years after she vanished from public view following the RTÉ payments scandal, here’s disgraced former station chief Dee Forbes enjoying the sunshine in a West Cork beer garden” (24 July 2026)
2. Irish Examiner – “Dee Forbes decided on reclassifying work of Derek Mooney, media committee told” (19 May 2026)
3. Daily Mail – “PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: Ex RTÉ boss Dee Forbes photographed for first time since pay scandal” (24 July 2026)
4. NewsLocker – “PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: First photos of Dee Forbes enjoying the sunshine in a West Cork beer garden three years after she vanished from public view” (24 July 2026)
5. Waterford News & Star – “Ex-RTÉ director general Dee Forbes ‘not fit or able’ to face Oireachtas committee” (2 November 2025)
6. The Irish Times – “Dee Forbes: Cork woman with impressive track record takes the top job in Irish media” (31 March 2016)
7. IFTN – “Taoiseach Leo Varadkar calls on Tubridy, Kelly, and Forbes to attend Oireachtas” (29 June 2023)
8. SuperannRTE.ie – “Dee Forbes at Oireachtas Committee”
9. Daily Mail – “BRENDA POWER: For 3 years ex-RTÉ boss Dee Forbes has avoided the broadcaster’s payment scandal. If she’s well enough to shop and travel, she’s well enough to answer basic questions” (28 May 2026)
10. The Irish Times – “Dee Forbes” tag page
11. Irish Examiner – “Cianan Brennan: Report shows Forbes has questions to answer” (25 August 2023)
12. The Irish Times – “Miriam Lord: Where is Dee Forbes? Under the bus, was the general consensus in the committee room” (29 June 2023)

Disclaimer

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