The table following provides details of TV licences issued for the fourth week of July and the first week of August in 2022 and 2023. Total issued for the months of July and August, the variation between 2023 and 2022 and the reduction in revenue over the period is also provided.
Every effort is made by An Post to ensure compliance with the Statutory requirements in relation to TV licences, and a considerable amount of time and resources is spent by An Post in undertaking its role as collection agent. The figures are likely to reflect public sentiment regarding the RTÉ controversy. Together with An Post, my Department continues to monitor figures, while NewERA are assessing the potential impact.
I will continue to monitor RTÉ's financial position, with the support of NewERA before making any decision on funding for RTÉ. It is important to note that the licence fee supports a broad range of content including sport, culture, current affairs, music, entertainment and more, across many broadcasters and independent producers, not just RTÉ, and it is vital that people continue to purchase or renew their TV licence.
The current figures reflect the critical need to rebuild trust in RTÉ. RTÉ have committed to this and have already introduced a number of measures to increase transparency within the organisation. The independent examinations which I have established are an important element of this reform.
As the Taoiseach has recently stated, Government is committed to reforming the TV Licence fee. A lot of work has already been undertaken to examine how the licence fee could be reformed, and how collection processes could be improved, and the Technical Group on Reform and Enhancement of the TV Licence System which I established, has submitted their report to me. In light of the current situation in RTÉ, the approach to the reform must be comprehensive and for this reason, while the report is under active consideration, any decision on the longer term funding model will be contingent on reform and addressing governance issues that have emerged at RTÉ.
|
TV Licence July/Aug
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
|
2023
|
2022
|
Difference
|
|
July Wk 4
|
10,661
|
14,151
|
(3,490)
|
|
direct debits
|
16,779
|
14,112
|
(2,667)
|
|
Total July
|
53,882
|
76,769
|
(22,887)
|
|
Aug Wk 1
|
9,631
|
15,030
|
(5,399)
|
|
Total August
|
54,664
|
77,736
|
(23,072)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Jul-Aug
|
108,546
|
154,505
|
(45,959)
|
|
Revenue lost
|
|
|
(€7,353,440)
|
