The Government are considering changes to the TV licensing system that would assess who should pay for the €160 charge after rejecting calls for the fee to be abolished altogether.
Minister for Media Catherine Martin will overhaul the current system and set up a group that will assess the current laws on TV ownership. The group will also discuss whether people that don’t own a TV set but watch RTÉ on their mobile devices or tablets should be made to pay the license.
The Future of Media Commission had their report launched yesterday, which revealed 31 per cent of people think the TV license charge is not good value for money. Taoiseach Micheál Martin spoke at the launch, saying the proposed reform of the system “marked a new departure” for Irish media.
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“The Government is determined to do everything we can to ensure that Ireland's media continues to deliver high quality public service content at local, regional and national levels,” the Taoiseach said.
Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan said that a removal of the TV license payment would have serious repercussions for Irish media as it could be subject to “political control.” The Government accepted 49 out of the 50 recommendations made by the Future of Media Commission’s research but rejected the proposed scrapping of the TV license.
People were critical of the move on social media, arguing that broadcasters themselves needed to adapt to the realities of media consumption in Ireland.
“In the age of streaming, the TV license fee is an outdated and unnecessary burden on society and should be abolished instead of maintained, let alone ‘overhauled.’ Overhaul the broadcasters instead,” one user wrote on Twitter.
The current TV licensing laws require everyone who owns a TV set, including a broken one, to pay the €160 fee on an annual basis. The payment is made to An Post who collect it on behalf of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment.
The TV license as a source of revenue has also been declining steadily for the past ten years according to the research. Several groups do not have to pay the fee, including over 70s and people who are on disability allowance.
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The report issued by the Future of Media Commission suggested that 15 per cent of the population avoid paying their TV license. Failure to pay the fee can result in a fine of €1000 for a first time offence and a further €2000 charge for those who repeatedly evade payment. People who breach a court order requiring them to pay their TV license can be subject to imprisonment.
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