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

Published: 23:44, 25 July 2026 | Updated: 23:48, 25 July 2026 The chair of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee yesterday called on Dee Forbes to come forward to explain her part in RTÉ’s financial scandals – after she was pictured twice in the past week socialising in West Cork. A series of photographs taken by the Irish Mail on Sunday showed the controversial former RTÉ director general Ms Forbes enjoying the sunshine at Hayes’ gastropub in Glandore, near to her home.  It is the first time Ms Forbes has been pictured since her dramatic exit from RTÉ in June 2023 after the eruption of the payments scandal which convulsed the organisation. Fifty-nine-year old Ms Forbes has never answered any questions about the numerous scandals which resulted from her tenure.  She has continued to cite ill health as her reason for not appearing before Dáil committees to answer questions about her part in RTÉ’s biggest ever financial crisis.  She has also refused an offer by Oireachtas committees to submit a written account of her role in the various scandals, the effects of which continue to reverberate in RTÉ. This week Ms Forbes was pictured with her partner, photographer Dennis Horgan at the picturesque bar which has tables spilling out onto the flower-lined road.  On both occasions, she was in the company of friends, smiling and laughing. She arrived at the bar in her partner’s Mercedes car. Wearing a striking black and white sundress, Ms Forbes sported a deep tan and showed off the jewellery and watches which she was noted for during her time as director general.  She also wore an Oasis-style black bucket raffia hat to protect her from the hot sun. Hayes’ Bar and Kitchen attracts tourists and locals alike with its stunning views of Dunmanus Bay.  Voted the best gastropub in Cork two years ago, it is also TV presenter Graham Norton’s local. Dee Forbes chats to pub goers outside Hayes' Bar in Glandore, West Cork. Photo: Sean Dwyer Dee is dropped off at the pub from a convertible Mercedes. Photo: Sean Dwyer Former RTÉ DG Dee Forbes leaves the pub on Friday night. Photo: Sean Dwyer Commenting on the photographs, the chairman of the PAC, Sinn Féin’s John Brady said: ‘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. ‘As Chairperson I am eager to ensure that our ongoing investigations come to finality as swiftly as possible. This scandal has now occupied two separate Dáils and issues are still coming to light. ‘Understandably when Ms Forbes was ill she could not partake in questioning but an investigation without the former director general is like Hamlet without the prince. ‘The director general had a key oversight role during all of that extravagance.  '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.’ Dee Forbes chats with Dennis Horgan, in the blue polo shirt, outside Hayes' Bar. Photo: Sean Dwyer Ms Forbes leaves the local shop with her messages on Saturday morning. Photo: Sean Dwyer Dee walks in the evening sun outside Hayes' Bar in Glandore. Photo: Sean Dwyer 'We have issued a significant number of invitations both in this term and the previous term. Despite all of the investigations there are a raft of unanswered questions most of which can only be answered by Ms Forbes. Commenting, a Government minister told the MoS yesterday: ‘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. Michael Carrigy, Fine Gael TD and member of the Oireachtas Media Committee which played a key role in the original investigation into RTÉ told the MoS: ‘The Committee would be very interested, subject to the health of Ms Forbes in hearing the testimony of the former director general.  Since her abrupt departure from the post of RTÉ director general, the release of a series of damning documents and reports has highlighted the many serious failings of Dee Forbes. July 2023: Documents released by RTÉ show that Ms Forbes told presenter Ryan Tubridy in 2020 that his pay would not be reduced despite what was being said in public. The papers also revealed that €345,000 worth of payments to Tubridy since 2017 had been hidden. August 2023: The report by accounting firm Mazars into RTÉ’s infamous barter accounts, where advertising was swapped for lavish gifts, showed that no one on the board knew about the existence of these accounts except Ms Forbes. January 2024: A report into Toy Show The Musical found that, on Dee Forbes’s watch, the production had overstated sponsorship revenue it raised by €75,000, and there had been little or no interrogation of the finances behind the project. January 2024: A report into a voluntary exit scheme at RTÉ found that Ms Forbes agreed a sweetheart exit package for former financial officer Breda O’Keeffe of €450,000, without the executive board’ approval. May 2026: Successor Kevin Bakhurst revealed that it was Ms Forbes who decided that presenter Derek Mooney would be classified as a producer at the station, thereby camouflaging his place in the top 10 best-paid presenters at the station. ‘When it comes to that scandalous era there can only be finality when these questions are answered by Ms Forbes.  ‘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.’ Social Democrats TD Sinead Gibney who is also a member of the Oireachtas Media Committee told the MoS: ‘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.’ Under Ms Forbes’s watch, a controversial ‘off the books’ €345,000 payment was made to Ryan Tubridy, lavish corporate entertainment was dished out to advertisers and highly-paid executives were granted cushy exit packages. Earlier this summer the MoS reported that Ms Forbes had been spotted in recent months shopping at the beauty counter at Brown Thomas in Cork and also at a luxury hotel in Munster and a beauty salon in Dublin.  Her partner Dennis Horgan told a reporter to f*** off when they called to the couple’s house after the scandal had broken. Ms Forbes still retains a spokesman at prestigious public relations firm, Fleishman Hillard. Yesterday Paul Bradley said he would contact her for comment about our photographs but none was forthcoming. A member of RTE’s National Union of Journalists branch told the MoS: ‘It’s very hard to believe these people are too sick to answer questions when they’re pictured at a party or the pub.' Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.