RTÉ INJECTED MORE money into its TV licence ads as the number of licences that were issued plunged in the wake of the 2023 payments scandal, new figures show.

Figures released by the national broadcaster show that spending on TV licence ads was over €300,000 that year, when thousands of households did not renew their licences after RTÉ became embroiled in controversy over undeclared payments to Ryan Tubridy.

The broadcaster constantly advertises the legal requirement to pay the €160 licence fee on its TV and radio platforms and in public locations, warning people of the consequences if they do not pay.

Although the spend on ads was as high as €396,000 in 2020, figures provided to The Journal show that this had dropped to around €292,000 by 2022.

The figure rose to €325,000 in 2023, before dropping again to €239,800 last year.

Around the time of the payments scandal, some viewers reported seeing an increase in TV licence ads around the broadcaster’s marquee events like The Late Late Toy Show.

Although questions were raised about the future of the TV licence fee in the wake of the controversy, the Government announced last year that the fee would be retained.

An Post will receive €6 million in Exchequer funding between 2025 and 2029 to improve collection rates and update technology of the database of people who pay the fee