Reform of TV licence fee sought by RTÉ to curb 'lost' funding

RTÉ is seeking a reform of the television licence fee this week as the national broadcaster looks to bring in an extra €30 million a year. 

Reform is possible, RTÉ believes, with a move towards the implementation of a household broadcasting charge.

The Irish TV licence fee is €160 per year, and was last increased in 2008. An increase of €2 was added at that time.

The State broadcaster has increased to €65 million its estimate of the public broadcasting funding “lost” each year as a result of licence fee evasion.

It also says it is losing out due to the growing number of “no TV” households that are ineligible to pay the charge.

A submission is due to be heard at the Public Accounts Committee tomorrow. At this, RTÉ director-general Dee Forbes will stress: “If there is no action, RTÉ will not be able to return to a stable financial position, will not be able to reinvent itself for future generations.”

The station “will not be able to fulfil our remit or maintain much of what we do today”, due to a fall in advertising revenue associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Commercial revenue fell sharply at the onset of the pandemic and, while there was some recovery towards the end of the year, it was still €11m lower than 2019,” according to RTÉ.

It says that 15pc of households no longer have televisions but still have no legal obligation to pay for RTÉ content they stream on their devices.

The RTÉ submission comes just after it was announced that the UK TV licence fee is to be frozen for two years. 

The UK licence fee is £159 per year, which is about €190.