Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 December 2023
297. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the number of households estimated not to be paying their television licence in each of the years 2022 and 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55891/23]
View answerThe estimated number of licensable premises not paying a tv license is calculated as follows;
comparing the total number of licensable premises with the total number of TV Licences issued, including both direct sales by An Post and ‘free’ licences provided by the Department of Social Protection under the Household Benefits Package. The number of licensable dwellings is based on CSO data, which is modified to account for homes which are believed to be without a liable device using data from TAM Nielsen regarding household TV penetration. The formula employed to arrive at the number of non-licenced premises is agreed by my Department, An Post and RTÉ.
In 2022, there were 1,653,759 licensable premises and the total TV Licences issued amounted to 1,442,236 (947,924 from direct sales by An Post and 494,312 ‘free’ licences provided under the Household Benefits Package). This means that the number of households estimated not to be paying their television licence is 2022 was 211,523, approximately 13%.
As final TV Licence and licensable premises figures for 2023 are not yet available, it is difficult make accurate an estimation. As the Deputy will be aware, there has been a decline in licence fees issued since late June, which has averaged up to 30% compared to last year. While the situation is still fluid, there has been signs of recovery in recent weeks, with the decline averaging approximately 13% since mid-November. As such, the overall evasion rate for 2023 is likely to be approximately 25%.
As I have stated previously, public service content and public service broadcasting is a vital pillar of our society and indeed our democracy. As such it needs to be supported, and therefore I again urge everyone who is required to have a TV licence to purchase or renew it so that the public service content which the TV licence supports, across all broadcasters, can continue to be provided for the benefit of us all.
