The COVID 19 crisis highlights more than ever the importance of public service broadcasting to our society. It is vital that the Irish public have a readily available, reliable source of information on COVID-19 and the measures being put in place to tackle the crisis.
Equally as important are the sources of funding that make it possible for public service broadcasting to operate. At a time when advertising revenues are falling, the COVID 19 crisis is putting considerable strain on the resources of all broadcasters. Licence fee receipts are therefore essential to maintaining the service provided by public service broadcasters such as RTÉ. The Sound and Vision Fund is also financed from the TV licence fee and has provided special COVID 19 rounds of €2.5m for commercial radio and €750,000 for community radio.
Given the importance of these services at the present time, it is not my intention to make any reductions to the licence fee.