We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE TV LICENCE fee should be abolished and replaced with Exchequer funding, the Oireachtas’ media committee has officially recommended.
The Journal published yesterday that there was a “detailed discussion” at a meeting with the party leaders, public expenditure minister Paschal Donohoe and the finance minister but no decision was made on what Exchequer funding would look like.
The recommendation does not mean the TV licence fee will certainly be abolished, as that decision is still subject to a report from the Government’s working group on reforming the TV licence fee.
But this model was also recommended by the Future of Media Commission in a report published in 2022 and a more recent report in May from media minister Catherine Martin.
In 2022, the Government chose to retain the licence fee system – despite the Future of Media Commission report.
The top recommendation from committee’s lengthy report and the Minister’s report are likely be a weighted factors over Government when deciding the future funding model of public service broadcasting.
Fianna Fáil TD and Chair of the committee Niamh Smyth said that a multi-annual funding arrangement should also be established and maintained through performance commitments from recipients, such as RTÉ and TG4.
She added, however: “It is important to note that this report’s recommendations are aimed at not only the major public broadcasters, but to local, independent, and community media across all platforms.”
The committee recommends that means tests be carried out on a small percentage of funding levied to public service broadcasters, through a TV Licence fee or otherwise, and the remaining funds be contestable for local, independent and community media outlets.
Coimisiún na Meán, Ireland’s media regulator, will be in charge of the exchequer funding and it is also recommended that it develop codes for public service media content as enshrined in the Equal Status Acts 2000-2018.
This, in theory, will quash attempts from outlets who do not fulfil the definition of public service media in their content from receiving a disproportionate amount of funding.
Separately the committee has recommended that a national Irish-language radio station for young people be established and funded as well.
Government ministers are still at loggerheads over the future of the TV licence fee and RTÉ funding.
Martin has been fighting an uphill battle as the idea is being opposed by the Tánaiste, Donohoe and Chambers.
However, Martin’s idea of abolishing the licence fee and replacing it with direct government funding has now been endorsed by the committee.
Additional reporting by Christina Finn
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Can we not just get rid of RTE,in the media saturated world of 2024 who needs a bloated, bureaucracy-riddled and ideologically biased dinosaur that should have been wound down 20 years ago. Let those who want it subscribe and pay for it,stop pestering the rest of us for shakedown money!
@Jonn: they want us to pay for their propaganda….typical tight gits.
@Dere:
We’re paying to be brainwashed, you couldn’t make it up. I don’t need or want RTE,it serves no function in my life, why am I expected to pay for it?
@Jonn: The roads in Meath and Longford serve no function in my life. Why am I expected to pay for them?
Talk talk talk , but you won’t walk the walk !
Abolished , waived , canceled, dropped, deleted keep talking
.. it depend on us .
I won’t pay it.
Thousands won’t pay
It’s about corruption.
@sakk sa: But,but the licence inspector will take you to court. 2024, this quango rte should cop the fluck on .only fair city fans agree with them.
@Paul Gorry: Maybe 5 years ago they would have taken you to court…. not now. I stopped paying in 2021, fired all the invoices and warnings in the bin – and have heard nothing since 2022. Nobody called either. They’re not going to take several hundred thousand people through the courts, they can hardly handle the Court backlog as it is.
They have finally realised all they can do is come up with a new model – and then try to get buy-in off the public.
Anyone who renews at the moment, needs their head examined.
Government should not be involved in broadcasting, it’s a blatantly obvious conflict of interest!
@Brian Hunt: how else will they spread their propaganda?
LET THE PEOPLE DESIDE IN A VOTE IF THEY WANTED TO KEEP IT OR NOT
Rte seem to have a sense of entitlement have they learned nothing at all. There is no way people can be expected to pay for it with what’s gone on and certainly not when no one was held to account as per normal.
Is Dee Forbes still unwell a year later?
@Rochelle Hart: long covid I’ve heard rochelle. God love it.
@Paul Gorry: Long Covid?
Or Long Cowardice?
People you wouldn’t give a job selling strawberries at the side of the road earning three-figure salaries in the bowels of RTE,enough is enough, time to pull the plug!
Is there not already a national Irish language radio station, namely Raidio na Gaeltachta? Why can’t this just begin broadcasting more content aimed at “young people” rather than setting up and funding an entire new station?
State influence is evident in privately owned media too. For most newspapers I would imagine their largest advertising partner is the government who funnel money to them by putting in non stop ads. I saw a half pager the other day in the Indo warning people not to stray onto military firing ranges. When your biggest advertiser is the government it surely creates bias.
No fear of the public being asked the general majority of opinion sure whens the last time they listened to the real issues facing us anyway.
Split it up, keep the news, national sports and one public interest radio station funded by the exchequer.
Sell off the rest. Thankfully the “stars” wouldn’t need redundancy payments as they’re all self employed.
@John Smith: Definitely, you could include the likes of primetime, crimecall, etc. Realistically, you might also have to include the physical infrastructure (same as the ESB network). You could lease out the commercial time and even the studios at a competitive price versus satellite slots. On the other side, after all the infrastructural overheads, maybe it doesn’t cost much extra to fill the space with repeats of reeling in the years.
@John Smith: A radio station would suffice for any real Public Service broadcasting RTE actually performs.
And that would survive on its advertising revenue alone.
So there is no need for any Exchequer funding, or licence fee.
If RTE want to keep anything else, then let it become subscription.
So we’ll take away the fee and replace it with a tax? These people should be in charge of everything, never in my life have i heard a more well thought out idea.
I don’t pay my TV licence anyway, so it makes no odds for me.
Ffg policy is to privatise every public service, so why not Rte whats soo different?
In all fairness that’s a bombshell! And cross parties too. They will ignore this recommendation and blindly stagger forward insisting that RTE is non biased, news worthy, and important to the Irish people. My ar%é! Hidden payments exposed initially continue unabated, Nepotism rampant, cosy pro Govt discussions abound every weekend on TV and radio. They are all towing the party line, oh… I give up!
Should not be reliant on Govt funding, far better to have a broadcasting charge collected by Revenue.
@Pat Hazzard: will you stop. Virgin media are doing OK. Why not sell the whole RTE off. Let someone buy it. Or make it a subscription service. I don’t watch it nor do I lister to any RTE radio service. Why should I pay a media charge or license.
@Pat Hazzard: Good man mr/Mrs/ miss/,hazzard.The usual nonsense from you.
@Pat Hazzard: last week you said people were paying the TV licence because of civic duty. Will you go away pat ffs. It should either be subscription or scrapped. Rte shouldn’t get another penny of tax payers money
@Pat Hazzard: Pat the Troll…..
Woke law-abiding sheep.
An organization worthy of comparison with the Tass news agency. Now to have open ended State funding. An organization that provided no answers to its last scandals & where nobody was held accountable or prosecuted, an organization that has destroyed the reputation of Irish democracy with its activities, now to be rewarded once more. It should have been wound up & sold off. How long till the next scandal ?
Miriam O’Callaghans husband got a nice little job in RTE, in certain jobs I know you could not recommend family for positions, but RTE seem to have a list as long as your arm
Niamh Smyth never even asked Kevin Bakhurst how much is required to fund RTÉ and implement any propped changes. Jesus wept, she’s the head of the committee set up to decide how RTÉ is funded???
I’ll second that!
If it comes out of your taxes it certainly will. If revenue get dragged into it (and if something like a communications tax is introduced) we will all be paying.
@Alan: Revenue can only collect fees from people’s taxes. What if you don’t pay tax.. Love to see the uproar if people’s SW payments are reduced to collect any media fees
Dole heads who don’t pay tax and just watch TV all day while I’m at work are the real winners here!
What a country!
@Paul: They could shut it down.
(Or make it subscription, and let it stand on its own feet.)
Then we’d all be winners.
They’ll just take more out of your pay packet some way or other and just say they abolished it.
It also needs to become smaller. It’s waaaaaaaay too big for a state broadcaster. It should be 2 channels, main one with news and national sports, and the other in irish. Same with radio.
How is D Forbes
And most people have no objection to you or anyone else paying it, but don’t try to force others who can see what a fiasco this organisation is. People abusing tax payers money and thinking they can just laugh it off or go on sick leave. Any judge who now convicts someone for not having a license will not solve the problem, they would be part of the problem.
Not one mention by our national broadcaster of Neno Dolmajian a Canadian tourist who died in the Mater hospital as a result of an assault on the 23rd June on Cathal Brugha St.
I have no problem with the current system. €160 is very fair given what we get… current affairs and sports coverage is good. Pity the entitled won’t pay, tubridy fiasco did so much damage.
have your say