TV licence fee could increase by €44

CONSUMERS face a possible 44 hike in their licence fee after a Government think-tank recommended an increase.

The decision on the size of any rise in line with the recommendation of the Forum on Broadcasting report could come before the end of the year.

The TV licence should also be index-linked to inflation, meaning the cost will rise each year, and a higher fee should be charged to commercial premises such as pubs and hotels, the report says.

The TV licence fee rose to €107 last year after the Government granted an increase of only €18.35 in place of the €62.40 sought by RTÉ.

Communications Minister Dermot Ahern indicated that the ball was now back in RTÉ’s court, as he currently had no application for a licence fee increase from the station.

He said that if RTÉ was to fulfil its commitments as a public service broadcaster then its services would have to be paid for, and he called for contributions from the public on the issue.

RTÉ director-general Bob Collins said the minister was well aware of the broadcaster’s intentions and that the station would be seeking the €44 increase as a minimum.

“It is absolutely clear that the authority would be making a revised submission,” he said.

And Mr Collins welcomed the Forum on Broadcasting’s recommendation that the Government ensure through a series of adjustments that the value of the new licence fee is not eroded over time.

“It is pointless to have an increase in the licence fee that is automatically eroded year on year by inflation,” the report says.

The Forum on Broadcasting also recommended greater public accountability for the broadcaster and said that business plans for all proposals for future development would have to be approved by the Communications Minister.

The report also recommends:

* single broadcasting regulator for the country.

* clear definition of RTÉ’s public service remit.

* the RTÉ Authority be redefined into a board of directors.

* the monitoring of RTÉ’s performance.

* the publication of transparent accounts by RTÉ.

* incentives and penalties for An Post for licence fee collection.

Minister Ahern will come back to the Cabinet with a final report on the recommendations in three to four weeks’ time.