Readers like you keep news free for everyone.
More than 5,000 readers have already pitched in to keep free access to The Journal.
For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can help keep paywalls away.
STOP US IF any of this sounds familiar.
In 1983 the government commissioned an external consultant to run the numbers at RTE in a desperate search for costs that could be cut as recessionary times bit hard. The consultant’s findings have been released by the National Archives under the 30-year rule.
Poor RTE always seems to come into the firing line when an Irish government has a few snips to make.
On this occasion, the consultant found that there was one way RTE could improve its efficiency – by getting people to actually pay their licence fee.
Yes, in 1983 almost 20% of viewers didn’t bother paying their annual charge.
“Reducing the level of TV licence evasion is the area of maximum potential for increasing revenue on the existing basis,” reads the consultant’s memo to government.
Click here to view a larger image
The plan would have been to cede full responsibility to RTE for licence fee collection from An Post after three years. The hope was to reduce evasion from 18.6% to 13%.
Making a difference A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.
In the meantime, the report states that “An Post should be given an attractive incentive payment scheme related to the level of licence fee revenue achieved”. A bonus for bothering to try to catch offenders in other words.
The consultant further estimated that RTE needed to shed 320 staff in order to improve its financial position:
There is a need for a restructuring of the corporate and senior management structures. The number of executives reporting to the Director General should be considerably reduced.
There’s no mention of what the top TV stars were paid in 1985 which is a shame. We’d hazard a guess it was less than what they get today though.
Still, the public may have been on board with the government’s plan if the thoughts of one Roscommon voter who wrote to Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald are anything to go by:
Click here to view a larger image
COMMENTS (64)