Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 June 2013
80. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the current rate of non-payment of the TV licence; the way this has varied in recent years; his plans to increase compliance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27860/13]
View answerThe requirement to have a TV licence and pay the accompanying fee is dependent on possession of a television set, as defined by section 140 of the Broadcasting Act 2009. In estimating the national evasion rate, my Department must take into account a range of factors including the overall number of occupied houses and liable businesses, the levels of vacant units and the estimated television penetration rate, that is to say the estimated number of homes possessing a television set. Based on currently available information, my Department estimates that the total number of properties required to hold a television licence is approximately 1.7 million and that, based on the number of current licences issued, the overall level of evasion is around 16% of this total. While estimates of evasion for previous years have been put forward by a number of sources, these have been based on different methodologies and are not readily comparable.
An Post administers the collection of the TV licence fee on my behalf and has done so since the current licensing system began. In terms of increasing compliance with the TV licensing requirements, An Post makes every effort to bring evaders into the licensed pool and a considerable amount of time and resources are spent in dealing specifically with this issue. An Post concentrates its initial efforts on getting people to buy the licence when due and by following up with a series of reminder notices and inspector visits. Bringing people to court is a last resort and only carried out where all other means have failed.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government commits to examining the role and collection of the TV licence fee in light of existing and projected convergence of technologies and to transforming the TV licence into a household based Public Broadcasting Charge to be applied to all eligible households and applicable businesses, regardless of the device used to access content or services.
I am currently considering the report of the recent Value for Money Review on the proposal to introduce such a charge. The independently chaired Review Group considered a range of issues in relation to the proposal, including the efficiency and effectiveness of the current licensing system.
