Well holy god. Does anyone want to buy a second hand projector? I’m outta here!

I don’t have a tv, I use none of RTE’s services, I don’t believe we need a state subsidised broadcaster, There is no way I am paying one cent towards Joe Duffy and Pat kennys ridiculous wages

When is the breathing tax coming into affect?

First the Greens now Labour next to be obliterated in next Elections?

I see the independent broadcasters of Ireland are looking for their bailout. I thought they were supposed to be a licence to print money!

I’m sick and tired now of being squeezed for every part of my wage that I earn and I know I’m not alone…I love my country and I know the grass isn’t greener elsewhere but It’s getting to the stage where I’m thinking it may be better just to leave…this shower absolutely don’t give a toss whether we survive day by day because their privileged. So not only do we get a Universal Tax,soon to be water charge,Household charge,increased road tax which doesn’t even help the death trap roads around the country,Mr Rabbitte sitting on his ass thought up of another way to bleed us dry and probably got a pat on the back from the rest of them…with the way the Guards and nurses are being treated now,I can’t see how we can stay quiet much longer…this isn’t getting any better

Last year I paid my tv licence. I allready pay my provider for my brodband. And pay Vodafone for my Data. Surely this is enough.Wonder are the planning to keep it at €160 like the licence. Doubt it. Id say they will try and round it up to €200+
What tax will they dream up next?

So we re now expected to pay for our use of the Internet TWICE??Twice Mr. Rabbitte??in a country where your actually lucky if you get a decent bit of coverage at all….

Rte shouldn’t get a penny it’s full of inefficient overpaid staff, it should be cut loose and run as a business which is what it is. The government like to control the media that’s why it’s still funded by the tax payer.

He can fu€k off

Broadcasting household charge? I pay privately for my broadband to watch US TV content. I’ll send a cheque to Obama thanks.

So basically it’s an Internet tax. Many of us modern day folk are using our computers/phones/tablets instead of TVs so their missing out on the sweet sweet free money.
It’s already a ridiculous sum, €160. Netflix is half that for the year.

I would gladly sign a legal document removing all national broadcasts off any device in my house . I pay sky for sat channels , the tv license is already an outdated stealth tax . another hairbrained idea for an under qualified ex teacher , roll on the revolution .

Not again. Leave us alone .

Don’t have a car?

Sure you may as well start paying Motor Tax anyway. You could still be walking or cycling on the road.

RIP Labour!

You pay a broadband provider to use data services. You already pay VAT on that. More double taxation. Seems to be standard Labour party policy these days. It’s all about “Socialism” Labour party style!!

Screw the citizens for every cent. Look after the needs of your banker and bondholder overlords!

Another bizarre squeezing mechanism, it’s amazing how creative our Government had suddenly become. It’s a shame they did not show more wit in running the economy than taxing the hell out of it.

Pitiful…..until such time as they reduce their vastly inflated saleries, expenses, waste in all departments of government, local authorities, rte, quangos, etc etc….(the list seems endless!!!!) and it makes real, not made up, real headway in reducing the deficit only then will I consider this “charge”

Bluffers the lot of them

Ireland is supposed to become the centre for ‘big data’, centre for ‘Cloud excellence’ and all that nonsense, considering the lack of available broadband in the country. Eircom is dead in the water with laughable speeds and still the only option for most folks.. Well, Ireland as an IT country is a lovely idea, Especially since it will be bankrolled by the citizens. No other business can get this kind of shakedown crowdfunding!!

We pay for Pat Rabitte spouting over the airways whether we want to or not.

RTE will supply them with loads of positive propaganda for this :p

The State is supposed to supply essential services and raise tax to pay for them. TV is not essential now, if it ever was. Why should I be forced to pay tax to cover the wages of RTE staff who produce programmes I choose not to watch?

A Wan@@r tax . Then TDs will pay more than most . Seems fair

Might be better economics to simply close down RTE. Would anyone miss them?

Seriously though !!!! I’m at the end of my tether, I can’t take much more.

Roll on local elections.

I am willing to pay private providers for their services based on a contract and knowing what I am getting for my money. I already do that. Why should I pay for something I don’t use and with no contract at all??!!

If the State is not able to to run public broadcasting effectively in today’s market, then the directors must go or the public provider must be privatized or abolished.

If the government provides infrastructure for the private broadcasting providers, then it should get money from them, not from the customers who have no contract with the government for this kind of service. It baffles me where the government gets these totalitarian ideas. Disgusting.

At this rate everything will be taxed, Fine Gael and Labour are really determined to be a one term government, at each turn they fail to provide real incentives and alternatives to repair the damage done by Fianna Fail.

W T F is a value for money report as apposed to a report. These wa^k3rs are reinventing the English spin language. There is no value in this country. Unless your a banker. I think this lemon is well and truly squeezed. The light tax will be back. To other comments. They already tax your runners. There is nothing you own or have that is tax exempt. Including afterlife tax. Tax on plots. Tax on coffins. Tax on undertaker services and tax on inheritance. Tax to buy it and tax to dump it. Tax to watch it and now a tax to watch it or don’t watch it but your paying for it anyway tax. If this shower were as inventive at job creation as tax creation we would be the best country in the world. Can’t wait until some FF/FG/ labour (rip) hole licker knocks on my door.

Well we have to pay for such great shows as ….THE LATE LATE SHOW and even worse THE SATURDAY SHOW……

…..lets see more interviews with Irish “Celebrities!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

You cant take the knickers of a bare arse, f@@k off u scroungers in Govt

Is there no end to these prats making up new taxes

Is this an actual joke? Perhaps not. Even if we can’t afford televisions, we pay for them.

We should have a window tax, door tax, vacuuming tax, canvassing tax for politicians coming to the door to make false promises and laugh at us.

I get that it’s replacing the tv licence,I just have a problem with paying twice to use the Internet and the government coming up with every little excuse to make us pay some sort of charge now….are all the people here not having a problem with this just loaded,don’t care or just trolling?

I’m getting sick of this turd polishing government!

So a tax/charge that is inclusive of everyone whether or not they can or want to watch RTE . Ok so if my phone/laptop gets stolen, my broadband/ESB gets cut and I therefore CANNOT receive the service provided for can I apply for a rebate for that period?

i’m paid up. I can’t receive RTE at the moment on telly as I have Sky box that I cancelled subscription on a year ago. I get all UK channels for free and RTE/TV3 etc. blocked. Yes I can access RTE on website at the moment on desktop computer but the app hasn’t worked on my first generation ipod touch for a year – however I choose not to watch. Can they not simply give licence payers a pin to access on internet and then people can choose (and pay) to watch or not

I have just read Pat Rabbite’s plan for a media tax. They are making Fianna Fail’s job in the next Govt, so easy. I can’t see the Labour Party getting re-elected. They are such a disappointment in this one. Any else agree?

Do these politicians lay awake at night trying to find ways to turn the screw tighter on hard working voters? The straw that broke the camels back comes to mind.

Run rabbit run rabbit run run run, run rabbit run rabbit run run run …………………. Over a f€€king cliff

Another antagonistic Seanie Fitz tax that I won’t be paying.

@ Jason and Danny.. The point is that i dont have a television so i dont pay a tv licence ..So under this new tax i will have to pay a broadcasting charge…I pay for my broadband..So why should i have to pay again..Thats why its a joke…Under that reasoning why not charge every house a public transport tax, I object to paying for the overbloated wages of RTE.

Great! More money for RTE to flush down the toilet on poor programming and overpaid presenters.

Its really getting ridiculous now at this stage. As most of the comments have shown very few people enjoy the service provided by state media, so even from that point of view its bollocks.

It really is getting to the stage where every little thing is being sponged off by the government with taxes. I’m heading.to the stage of my life where I’m considering settling down and as much as I love here, I don’t think ireland is a viable option to settle down and raise a family. State services are getting worse and cost more. I really don’t want to leave because its a great little country but I need my earnings to be my own. I work to live, not live to work. The problems weren’t even caused by my generation and I’ll be damned if I’m paying for the pensions and retirement packages of those who caused this.

Only TAX this government won’t bring in is the “Arsehole Tax”! Cos they be the highest earners!!!!!!

Next it’ll be water!!

At this rate we’ll default sooner rather than later. Brilliant, Keep it up. The sooner the better.

I pay for my broadband already, so I ain,t paying this one!

Ah yes, the payoff for RTE’s transformation into PRAVDA over the last few years.

So lets put this into perspective: An accounts office, a butcher, a creche, person on the street etc who have computers and internet access but never had a TV in their offices/homes would be liable for a public broadcasting charge ?????
Fine Gael / Labour have learned nothing from the Fianna Fail episode.
This stinks of RTE not allowing their overspent budgets to be compromised by having to share their license fee with the other broadcasters. Time for a major RTE shake up.
Pat if you bring this in I am afraid you will have to go. You simply cannot tax the internet !

They’ll have to get Revenue to collect this one as well when enough people boycott it. Heading in the direction of an out and out dictatorship.

This is full fledged fascism. Deputy Moynihan must be an OAF requesting a reduction in the TV license when this is another cynical revenue, screw-turning exercise. Shame on them!! Bad and all as it is to have such grossly over-paid RTÉ staff i.e. the top earners and in these times to lump on even more warrants two fingers to the minister.
Maybe the minister(s) might extract more revenue from oil, gas, etc rather than giving away all our resources.
I’m afraid we people are afraid and asleep.
What is wrong with this country?? Our pride is asleep by the wayside.

If you had a bigger house you would have an extra room for the sound to go into or maybe if you left the front door open the sound could go out there ,sure you could charge more for that and the garden shed don’t forget the garden shed ,anybody any other ideas

Broadcast charge inspector can keep the tv licence inspector company on my doorstep knock all you want ill not be answering. I pay upc enough for my tv and broadband wouldn’t watch the Irish channels if they paid me!

Ffsake what next go take a fu#king jump

We’ll have taking a shit tax next!!

This country is gone to hell what next a tax on the air we breath. What a load of crap. We have to pay a fee to watch crap on Irish tv as it is which half is not even made in this country o lord help us all. The politicians have there heads stuck so far up there own #%^* the ¥*^%% the find up there is comin out of there mouths it no wonder so many people want and are leaving the country. All as I can say is STUFF the government

“My view us that the cost should be borne by society as a whole”. We do, we pay for the TV, the PC, broadband, cable, electricity and some even had to pay for Saor(free)view not to mention ITunes, Netflix etc etc. what do the state actually provide that we are expected to pay for? RTE??????

f#%k you government, that’s my two cent.

Go and shite Rabbitte!!!

The window tax was got rid of about 1695, taking bets on date of reintroduction #backwardpoliticiains #backwardgovernbment

Breathe in…Pay tax…..Breathe out……Pay tax……Why don’t we just give them all our money and get them to pay our living expenses….would love to send the bills to the Dail…sit back and not worry.

No sign of a Tax on Banker Bailouts or Developer Bailouts yet?!
Oh, I forgot, we’re already paying that…

i am not getting another tv licence, reception since i got new boxes in is crap,, today tv out most of day,, or its skipping,, and another repeat omg,, tv is all repeats of morning shows, soaps, and crap,, this is not what we should be paying for,,, and rte is crazy with the ads, all paid for by tax payer,, tv licence,, hello put it to better use,, gay byrne and his rsa,, go take a pension,, why are we paying big money for nothing,,,,, can we get fg and labor out now before they charge us for air,,, i am tired of it all,,, my daughter does her leaving this year { 100 euro i have to pay} and i feel i want out of this country before we have nothing,, my house worth nothing,, and now taxes coming on top,, will never sell,,pay mortgage, mortgage insurance, house insurance, car insurance,, elec, heat , house tax coming , water tax,, petrol tax out of control,, what are they doing,, i would love someone to stand up and go for getting them out,, no wonder they have not been in power for over a decade,, their is no such thing for working man in this country,, does not pay to work ,, get government house dont pay house tax,, get money ,, medical, we need them outttttttt now,, and sorry i did vote them in,, so so so sorry

This will be a tax for which you will gain no more internet services, gain no more advantages but with just a bill you will get – and the money used on something you neither need nor want.

The Irish government knowing that RTE viewing and listening numbers is falling. The Irish government knowing that RTE is over paying massively a select number of elite TV presenters, says that it has to find the money to fund RTE! Kenny ‘Callaghan, Ryan Tubridy, Pat Kenny, Duffy, Finnucane, Dobson, some of them on 10 to 15 times the industrial wage! Some of the most boring, talentless and weak interviewers who constantly do their go softly approach when interviewing government ministers by coincidence they support!

Why? Why does RTE have to be paid for? Especially for product/service that simply more people DO NOT WANT IT!

The Irish Times reported a short while ago:

”The licence fee regime is set to be reformed by the Government, with Mr Rabbitte’s department expecting that a replacement household broadcasting charge will generate higher income as a result of a more efficient collection mechanism.” LINK

So by having ANY form of media facilitation tool, be it a computer or smartphone in your possession or household, means that you are going to be taxed for having it. What’s more, once that money is extorted from you, it will be given to RTE who’s services you might never use!

I NEVER watch RTE – let me say that again, NEVER.

Why should I have to pay for something I do not want, never use and is frankly, amid many of their faults, filled with over-paid boring, talentless buffoons who are afraid to ask serious direct questions to our government! Filled with presenters whom support the government and always have a ‘go-soft’ behaviour to the government of the day in questioning!

If I walk into a shop and order something, order a service – right, not a problem, I should pay for it!
If I walk into a shop and purchase/use something – why the hell should I be forced to pay for something else not even in the shop and totally unrelated that I never want to will never use?
It’s more legalised extortion by the state – and the sheep of Ireland will either accept it or make excuses for justifying it.

We already pay for our internet connection (and there is vat/tax on that bill alone) be it through telephone line, cable or whatever, at a much higher rate than anywhere else in Europe.

Those with Sky or similar services – might be already paying money to RTE. The public in paying their Sky monthly bill, are already contributing to RTE services even if they don’t avail of the station. I suspect RTE KNOW this but are remaining silent on the matter!

Are you going to get faster internet connection because of this new bill? No!
Are you going to get a new RTE free of adverts (the BBC have an advert free station because the public is willing to pay for it)? No!
Does RTE want its bread buttered on both sides? Gaining money from adverts AND from an extorted public? YES!
RTE is full of commercials and a terrible lot of programmes are now sponsored. Plus there all all those blatant products/brands being promoted constantly like all the giveaways on the Late Late Show (better known to others as “The Late Late Advertiser”). Another point of a license fee is so that a state tv station is independent – is RTE? No! RTE is constantly stuck up the ass of the government of the day. It don’t help when a number of its presenters are supporters of the current regime and/or are piss-poor weak in interrogating the actions and words of our elected representatives.

Look at how all our government heads refuse to face the likes of TV3 presenter Vincent Brown – especially Kenny who consistently comes up with a myriad of excuses to avoid them question him – but is willing to go on RTE knowing the much weaker questioning he will clearly get there? Is this low calibre of broadcasting that you want to be paying for?

Just look at TV3, another independent Irish station. Their presenters, their background staff, their service is all paid by the money they pull in due to the work they do – but RTE? No… money from them has to be extorted from the Irish public if they like it or not! If they want RTE or not!

Will the too complacent sheep of Ireland accept this next new invented charge? Sadly they will – and Fine Gael and Labour disgustingly know this!

Do the Germans and French pay a non-TV tax? Love to see that idea floated over there.

And if you tolerate this, your children will be next, will be next, next.

Call it what you like it’s another TAX

Solution to problem. Close down R.T.E. Result: Saving of massive salaries paid to mediocre, so called T.V. presenters, removing the platform from our gombeen public representatives and the spoofers who believe themselves to be T.V. stars and very important people. It will also bring us in to line with the Kyoto agreement by eliminating the vast amounts of hot air generated by so called political commentators and spin doctors whose sole purpose is to confuse the general public to enable our , so called , political elite, crooked banks, dodgy property developers and white collar crooks et al to rob us blind.

If he wants to stop the free use of RTE on the internet, either take RTE Off the internet or make it a ‘Pay-per-View’ or ‘Pay-to-hear’ service.

everyone on here should go onto labour and fine gael pages and say what they have to , it would be more effective,

For Gods sake people, find out where your local Labour TD is this weekend. Go there, and let them know how you feel. If that means disrupting his local Clinic, all the better. Do Something! Don’t talk about it. DO IT!!

I wonder can I write my own promissory note to the govt that I will owe them all the taxes in 50 yrs when I die and they can sell my house, hopefully be out of neg equity by then!!!

Is it 5% of collected fee that went to an Post for managing collection of licence fee? Where will this cut go now.. Revenue to administrate it?

And yet pay for Internet tax for Shit coverage. bloody fantastic, Oh lord let the Zombie apocalypse begin.

Just another slithery stealth tax.

We need a revolution and a new goverment and we need to strip all these current and formor FF/green bastards of all there assets and pensions and stick em on social welfare for afew years and they can see what its like at the bottom. Everyone of them has put there own needs and agenda’s above the people who elected them, the sad part is there is no one left in this country to protect its citizens. The few groups that could organise and overthrow them are sitting on there laurels. Irish pride is dead.

They won’t add it to the property tax because not everyone has to pay the property tax but everyone will have to pay this!

Get real rabbitte before you become hare stew…… , you deserve to be beaten to death with balls of your own shit

Have nothing to do with RTE/TV3 so I’m not giving any cent to Pat Kenny and other high-paid ‘TV stars’!

Seriously, it’s like the old penal laws

Property tax mark II

I know a few free wifi zones nearby. I will disconnect UPC, cancel the fixed line, give up the smartphone and when I wish to use Internet services, I will download what I need outside the home. There is a nice warm public library nearby.

We need to adjust our lifestyles. I see this as a challenge not to spend. I have got rid of my car and I see it as a gratifying challenge to minimise my tax hit. So, bye, bye UPC.

I have worked out a campaign of maximum engagement over the Property Tax. It is my duty to absorb lots and lots of time of the public service on this issue. I have to make sure that I get the valuation right and this means lots and lots of detailed and conscientious communication with the relevant authorities. We have a well paid public service and we deserve lots of their time and attention.

The response to austerity is frugality. Diminishing returns is the legitimate response.

And u can fu€k off as well billy

When oh when will the Labour Party call an emergency conference and get rid of the four muppets (Rabbite, Howlin, Burton and that other yahoo from Galway ) once and for all. Am I to believe now these 4 ARE the Labour Party. Come on Labour ffs…….. are you all like this ugly quartet? As a political entity you should be embarrassed to call yourselves socialists.

Just a question, majority of residences theoretically have the ability of getting the Internet, whether through cable or phone line -ignoring the quality issue for a moment. So is this then really a type of household charge ? How will they distinguish between those who can/can’t/dont access any of the services this covers? Will they go through the census or complete a nationwide survey which will cost more money? Have they really thought this one through(ha!! as if)??

The new tax is just to establish it. Just like the household charge was used to establish the new property tax.

This data charge will evolve into a per KB/MB/Gigabyte charge as you will be charged for the content amount, regardless of what you are watching, reading or listening to.

Open your eyes.

Before he can charge for this they would need to run out effective, reliable and fast broadband nationwide. So that won’t happen for years so they are only flying kits again.

Havent paid the tv licence un years. Once got a letter threatening a court appearance. I wrote back stating i had not signed anything stating i agreed to pay the licence. I also mention that its currently a bye law. Never heard from them again…worth a try maybe

This must be a joke….how many more ‘charges’ can they possibly come up with?!?!?!?!?

And all if this in the face of a report staring AUSTERITY DOES NOT WORK.

Stop taking our hard earned cash you feckin feckers!!

They’ll be charging us for breathing next

They may as well just say “Stick ‘em up” at this stage!! We ned to fight back, we really do!

Not as long as I have a hole in me Uncle Noel

I wonder are they going to have a blinking tax. We shouldnt be blinking everytime we feel like it.

Remind me again what Income Tax is for?

There was a time governments got by on Customs duties on imports at their ports. There was no income tax, PAYE, PRSI, USC, VAT, CGT, stamp duty, inheritance tax, gift tax, tv licence fees, tax on cheques, tax on credit cards, tax on water, on second homes, on first homes, car registration tax, or any of the thousands of little taxes fees and charges we get hit with every day.

The government back then kept its fat face out of our business and our lives. Seems like an ideal paradise now. Kafka would be impressed.

He’s clearly never used the RTE player. I was going to write more but I’m actually lost for words with how ridiculous this is.

Is rabbit on hash or something ,I heard they were smoking it in the jack,s in the dail,is Ming sharing his fix with him

Wait until they bring in the bear tax

The so-called Labour Party has done a fantastic job of transforming itself from the party of Republican Socialist & Irish Patriot James Connolly to that of a willing tool of exploitative international free market vulture capitalism.

Ceausescu’s children, the ‘Stickies’ of the 1970s (Rabbitte, Gilmore, Lynch etc) have sold out on all principles, that is if ever they had any, to become modern day post-Socialist leaches determinedly sucking on the very life blood of ordinary workers.

We need to resist and stand up to this bulls##t. Also, I don’t know of a single person who doesn’t have a tv, I reckon in this day and age those people are extremely far a few between. However, there seems to be a lots of Journal readers who don’t have TV’s…..

What about the low usage standing charge. U pay for ur electric even u dont use it.

Phil Hogan’s little property tax charge has enabled them to develop a nice big database that will now be used to collect lots of new stealth taxes such as this new broadcasting charge. Add it on to household and water charges, what will be next.

I’ve only know one family who never had a television and being neighbors definitely couldn’t have any broadband so wonder how they’d take the charge. Maybe it should be for those with television or broadband connection instead of every house.

RTE is not a public service broadcaster. They’re a commercial entity who broadcast commercially viable content funded in part by commercial advertising. If they were running educational content all day, with no ads, I’d be happy to pay for it because it would be for the greater good of society. But we’re not getting that. We’re getting the same content that any commercial station can broadcast.

The only exception to this is their incessant wish to push religious down our throats.

I don’t watch anything at all on RTE and I don’t see their service as something that operates in the public interest (like the BBC does for instance). I therefore don’t think it is fair in any way to force me, and others who don’t use the service, to pay for it.

Was it for this…..? Centenary of 1913 lockout. Labour ministers screwing working people. Connolly and Larkin would burn with shame. Socialists my arse. Pass the smoked salmon.

Let RTE fend for itself and scrapping the charges altogether. Either that or keep the existing licence system and on it provide a yearly username and password for the online content. (say it works on 3 devices or something) That way those who pay will get access to the ‘epic’ broadcasting available and the rest of us will just play with our water meters or something :)

Well i surprised this government and air Lingus having tried to tax us for flying even if we don’t use it or wait that could come next month

That’s our labour socialists 4 ya. A labour minister reduces children’s allowance , ( minister burton) a labour minister howlin reduces everyone’s pay and now labour minister rabitte wants to tax us 4 using “devices” well the device,Of the ballot box will not see me ever giving labour any vote again. Armani socialists Gilmore and co have taken Berlins way and our youth are trying to find work down Bostons way.Now they want to kill unborn babies with abortion.is that their way, kill the unborn and tax the living until the banks are paid back Fine Gael no better. Democratic left labour we have where’s the real labour, of James Connolly………..

I refuse to pay on the grounds that the Katherine Lynch show is the most talentless, unfunny crap on TV and I would prefer to pay money not to have it on the air.

The only silver lining should be that people across the land recognise how low the standard is to get your own TV show. Who is responsible at RTE for airing it? It is simply appallingly bad.

It makes Tallafornia look like Mad Men in comparison.

This is the best example of “taxation is theft”.

The IRS in the USA use this as an example of an unfair tax, the richest person in Ireland pays the same amount as a single mother.

RTE have been sponging off the Irish public for far too long. They have a budget of €5,000 a week for booze and used to pay Gaybo a “retainer” of €250,000/year to do nothing. Meanwhile 120 women are in jail for not paying the TV Tax.

And for what? a second rate tv station that censors public debate in favour of the government propaganda. If RTE were sold it would still exist albeit almost as efficiently as TV3. The unfair competition would be eliminated and we would see several new stations appear.

What they are essentially doing now is imposing an Internet Tax, a Projector tax and Mobile Phone Tax and stupid Irish people will complain for a while and then pay it, or end up in jail.

Unless these numpties are booted out of office and FF and SF too, we can expect more of the same. What exactly does it take for the people to rise up and stop being victims? You have a choice, a revolution or start living 1984. Ireland is sitting on enough gas and oil that if properly managed, the government would be pay us to live here. These resources belong to you and your children, if you don’t fight for it then you may as well emmigrate now. I have no confidence that the Irish will do anything about this, or the starving people or the 50 Soup Kitchens that have sprung up, the old and poor people freezing to death, the 30% of all Irish Children living in consistent poverty, the people-less homes that are more abundant than the homeless people.

Just keep watching RTE and pretend that everything is normal, don’t look out your window.

they can ki$$ my ring for it!!

Thank you for your offer of services Fat Rabbitt , I am not willing to contract myself to you or your Gombeen state departments .

It’s very simple . The “State” is a company and should be dealt as so .

More money. Why isn’t this being implemented as part of the property tax.

No Jason its not replacing the tv licence !!!!

Another innovative way of collecting revenue.

Ha ha this is the first price hike on the property tax!!!!! And so it begins and we haven’t even bloody paid it yet!!

they want to introduce this tax now while most people can still afford tv, pc, etc; soon they will be only for the rich(politicians) I think anyone who is young enough should leave the country now while they can still afford to.
Is it any wonder the suicide rate is rising among young people. No matter how hard they work to get a good education their future in Ireland looks very bleak, every day its doom and gloom.,( Unless of course they want to go into politics)

Truly, this broadcasting charge is the last straw.

At the rate things are going people will opt to go to prison rather than pay another tax.
Is it not in the government interest to keep people out of prison?
how much does it cost to keep a person in prison each week?
I bet it will cost more than the price of a tv licence or broadcasting charge. I could do with the break anyway, it will be the only way i will get one for the next few years anyway as i cant afford a holiday.

Spare change jar tax next !!!

I would put it to Pat Rabbitte, Minister for Communications that he needs to address the area of inequality when it comes to availability of broadband. It is an absolute disgrace that some areas of the countryside do not have access to services that so many others now take for granted. It is not right that it costs me more for a service that is available to my neighbours a few miles down a road, taking into account that I am having to pay for a service whch is substandard.

Here comes June. Here comes Canada. $75/yr road tax (roads are nice, too), free state tv (CBC) which actually makes half the children’s programming on rte (only reason rte gets turned on in my house) supported solely on ad revenue, half ass fair income tax, no internet tax, only mildly overpaid politicians, no bailouts necessary. Any wonder why so many have gone this route?

If you watch the stuff then you should pay for it. If you don’t, then don’t
The old TV licence model of financing RTE is outmoded. There is no reason not to make RTE (and Aer Lingus) pay its way. It’s hardly essential, unlike hospitals and public transport..
Government is being (as usual) totally disingenuous. This is another “stealth” tax, a crude and unjust “catch all”. Is there no end to this dishonesty and abuse of power??

I assume this would also be contributing to tv3 tg4 etc who are self funded . Here is an idea . Give them some if the funds from the tv licence !!

Welcome to your Nazi State people were all pre warned ,

So.. and I ask this honestly.. why should I pay for something that is:
1) Biased to the local government paying it’s wages
2) Lies constantly about what is going on. For examples, see recent protests where RTE reported “only 100 or so” when in fact there were clocked over 10’000 people”.
3) Is not a service that we actually want. Let me repeat that. IT IS NOT A SERVICE WE WANT.

Tell you what, rabbit. Send me a bill for a service I don’t want, and I’ll send it back after using it as toilet paper, yeah?

An answer to the problem could be what they have introduced in South Africa to purchase any TV you have to show a current TV license this does away with the cost of sending inspectors to investigated if a household has a current license.

No.

It makes sense in light of the way we consume media, cue the journal ‘can’t pay, won’t pay brigade’

Wow lots of people whinging about paying this. If you do pay the TV license then this is identical so what’s the big deal?

People do realise that this is replacing the TV License and not a new tax?

This is a sensible solution for the 21st century. How we consume media has transformed in the past 15 years and huge numbers of people are watching output from the national broadcasters but are not paying for it, as they don’t have a TV. This will correct this anomaly.

I have a cheepe Aldi sat box, I dont get rte (there not free view channels), I get all the bbc’s utv, itv’s c4′s & 200 other channels. I live without rte just fine. ( I still pay the licence though. ):

Makes sense to me, better than paying for every device capable of receiving broadcasts in the home.