The way the TV licence is collected in Ireland will be changed under new rules to be agreed on by the Government.
There was a proposal brought to Cabinet which asked the government to ditch the €160 annual fee, which is collected by An Post and distributed by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media altogether, but this was rejected.
Therefore, under Irish law, this charge must be paid by everyone who has a TV or equipment capable of receiving a television signal - even if the TV is broken.
According to the Irish Independent, Minister Catherine Martin has instead opted to create a working group to look into how to make the collection of the TV licence more effective.
A government note confirmed: “The licence fee will remain but will need to be updated to the way people actually consume media now and collection needs to be strengthened.
“This would be all done after a further examination of the potential revenue generation capacity of the TV licence system.
“It will be necessary to engage with other departments, agencies and An Post to work through these complex issues in detail."
While the charge is going nowhere anytime soon, certain groups are exempt from paying the licence.
Groups that are exempt from paying the TV licence
The Household Benefits Package (HBP) helps alleviate financial pressure on certain groups.
These groups include:
- People over 70
- Those on disability Allowance
- Those who receive Invalidity Pension
- Those who receive Blind Pension
- Those who receive Incapacity Supplement (for at least 12 months) with Disablement Pension (for at least 12 months)
- Anyone who is caring for and living with a person who is getting Constant Attendance Allowance
- Anyone who receives Carer's Allowance (full or half-rate payment), but you must be living with the person you are caring for
- Those who receive equivalent Social Security Pension or Benefit from a country covered by EU Regulations or from a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement
Usually, only one person in a household can get the Household Benefits Package, but you can live with other adults who are not your spouse, cohabitant or civil partner and still get it.
If you are aged under 70 and live with your spouse, cohabitant or civil partner, you can get the package if you are in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment and other factors apply to you.
To get the HBP, you must be getting an increase in your qualifying social welfare payment for your partner/cohabitant, or they are getting their own qualifying social welfare payment, or they are getting a social welfare payment not listed above and they pass a means test.
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