Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 September 2012
986. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Communications; Energy and Natural Resources his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding television licences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38459/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe regulations underpinning the current TV Licensing regime are set out in Part 9 of the Broadcasting Act 2009. The possible introduction of different categories of licence, under Section 144 of the 2009 Act, was considered by my Department in an exercise conducted last year. An evaluation of the feasibility and cost benefits of such a step was carried out in conjunction with a consultation process, which sought the views of stakeholders who had previously been in contact with the Department in relation to this issue.
On foot of this review, the Department decided not to pursue the introduction of different categories of licence at this stage but rather to deal with the issues arising in the context of an ongoing wider review of the current model of television licence fee. This review, which includes a comprehensive examination of both the effectiveness and efficiency of the current model, is being undertaken on foot of the commitment in the Programme for Government to introduce a household based Public Broadcasting Charge. This review, which will also include a period of consultation, will examine the role and collection of the current TV Licence fee, in light of existing and projected convergence of broadcasting technologies, and will include an analysis of the most effective models in terms of efficiency and capability to fund our public service broadcasting service. It is my expectation that the review will also deal with issues relating to equity of applicability, including the approach to be taken to situations as described in the correspondence received by the Deputy.
The ultimate objective will be to transform the current TV licence into a Public Service Broadcasting Charge to be applied to all households and applicable businesses, regardless of the device they use to access content.
