KERRY WAS A hotspot for TV licence dodgers last year, with 540 summonses for non-payment issued by a court in Tralee last year.

It came out above areas of Cork and Limerick in new figures released by the Minister for Justice to Fine Gael TD Patrick O’Donovan.

Topping the list was Dublin, with 9,761 issued. However, this figure relates to all summonses issued including those not served.

Courts in Ennis and Wexford also ranked highly, issuing 393 and 399 summonses respectively.

The €160 licence must be renewed yearly.

However, non-payment can result in a fine of up to €1,000, or as much as €2,000 for repeat offenders.

The future of the TV licence has been under scrutiny recently following suggestions that its successor, the broadcasting charge, has been shelved, potentially until after the next general election.

The new charge was due to be brought to account for more media being assumed online, and not using a television.

However, Minister for Communications Alex White told the Irish Independent earlier this month of plans to bring proposals to Cabinet of how the new levy would be introduced.

“It will not feature in 2015,” he said

Here’s the full list:

Department of Justice Department of Justice

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