'Scrap the TV licence' demands Laois TD as 13,000 viewers taken to court

A Laois TD is calling for the TV Licence to be scrapped, after hearing that 13,000 householders were taken to court for non-payment of the €160 annual charge.

Sinn Féin TD for Laois / Offaly Brian Stanley has called on Government to scrap the TV licence.

Instead he and his party want the state to fund RTÉ and other public service media through direct Exchequer funding.

“We in Sinn Féin have already put forward a Dáil motion on scrapping the TV Licence that was voted down by the Government. However, since then the cross party Oireachtas Media Committee has recommended abolishing the TV licence fee as well.

“Two years ago, the future of media commission recommended the abolition of the licence fee from 2024 to be replaced by exchequer funding or more specifically an explicit taxation approach, and then just as now the Government decided to ignore its own commission’s recommendations,’’ the Portlaoise based Sinn Féin TD said.

He said that the RTÉ payments scandals increased the number of people avoiding payment. 

“Financial scandals at RTÉ have rocked people’s trust and confidence in the national broadcaster and the TV licence. The number of people refusing to pay has soared in the aftermath of these scandals.

“According to a recent Parliamentary Question I asked on this matter, the total reduction in revenue generated by TV licence sales for the 12 month period between July 2023 and June 2024 amounts to €29,765,920, compared to the year before, prior to the scandals being uncovered.

“But people are still being brought to court for non-payment. Sixty people per day face prosecution for non-payment. 13,000 people were summoned before the courts last year while no one has been held to account for the incredible waste of public money at RTÉ,’’ the Laois TD said.

He said other countries have moved from licence fees to general exchequer based public funding in recent years.

“Our public sector broadcasters need to be properly funded to fulfil their mission and to do that, there must be a steady and adequate supply of funding. The model we are proposing would deliver that. It is now time to act. The Government must scrap the TV licence and fund RTÉ and other public service media through direct Exchequer funding,” Dep Stanley said.