asked the Minister for Communications if he will consider a proposal from RTE to collect its own licence fees; if such a proposal were more efficient than the present arrangement and cost less than the £5.3 million it is proposed to pay An Post next year for providing this service; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - RTE Licence Fee Collection.
6.
My concern as Minister for Communications is to ensure that the maximum number of television households are correctly licensed and that the work of collecting television licence fees is carried out in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. In May 1986 RTE submitted a proposal to have television licence collection work transferred to it. Collection costs in the RTE proposal was £4.0 million at 1986 prices whereas the collection costs for An Post was £4.4 million. Having considered the application, An Post were given 12 months during which their performance on the work would be reviewed. In that connection I am glad to say that An Post has reached a very difficult target of television licence sales for the 12 months ended 30 September 1987.
Would the Minister agree that, because RTE benefit directly from the proceeds of licence fees, they might be better motivated to collect such fees themselves and that the rate of unlicensed sets might diminish if RTE were allowed collect these fees themselves?
There are a number of factors to be taken into account here. First, An Post are doing an excellent job. They have computerised their whole system and, on 30 September last, for the first time ever they reached the target agreed between RTE and An Post, of 795,000 licence fees actually collected. A proposal to take the collection franchise from An Post would involve the loss of approximately 120 jobs in An Post, or 120 people being made redundant. The trade union movement in An Post have been lobbying strongly in regard to the work they are doing. I am conscious of their representations. I set targets for them and told them at a meeting earlier this year they would have to meet the targets laid down for them. They have achieved those targets and deserve credit for so doing. Indeed I have already complimented them on that account. The fact that they have achieved that target will be taken into account in arriving at the final decisions following the 12 months trial.
What percentage of overall television sets in the country does the agreed target represent? When is it proposed to make a final decision on the matter of another agency collecting these fees?
As I have already said, An Post were given a 12-months trial period and that period will conclude around April of next year. However, I am very satisfied with their work so far on reaching the agreed target of 795,000. I have not got the exact figure.
Is the Minister satisfied that An Post have enough resources at their disposal to find out where unlicensed sets exist and is the policing side of An Post sufficient to ensure the highest possible rates of licensed sets in the country?
In 1985 the former Minister for Communications, as part of a package of measures in regard to local radio, introduced the Wireless and Telegraphy Act which proposed to increase substantially the fines for people who do not pay their licences. That will be reintroduced tomorrow in the Sound Broadcasting Bill. The inadequacy of the fine is part of the reason people have not been paying the licence. In relation to the resources of An Post, with their network of post offices around the country and their intimate knowledge of individuals they have a special facility for collecting these licence fees.
Given that the Minister is satisfied with the performance of An Post in collecting television licences in the past six months, is he saying that if that performance continues during the next six months and if they achieve their targets he will not then consider transferring the collection of television licence fees to RTE?
In any aspect of life if a company is given a target, achieves that target and continues to perform at a successful rate, it is quite obvious as to what the decision would be in relation to it continuing with that job, in this case collecting licences.