TV licence fees left unspent

FIFTEEN euro from every TV licence holder, or €17 million in total, has gone unspent over the last two years thanks to foot-dragging by the State broadcasting regulator, it was claimed yesterday.

The IBEC-sponsored Audiovisual Federation said the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) had yet to allocate any of the money set aside in its so-called “Innovation Fund.”

Plans for the fund were floated by the government two years ago to support special independent broadcasting projects. The fund was part of the trade-off that saw the licence fee hiked from €107 to €150 and gets 5% of total licence fee revenues.