17,000 with no TV licence face court

OVER 17,000 people are facing prosecution for failing to purchase a TV licence last year as the number of offenders rose for the third consecutive year.

While the final figures are not yet available, An Post has confirmed its legal department initiated proceedings in 17,016 cases. The figure, for the first 10 months of 2010, represents a rise of 1,316 on 2009.

In 2009, An Post applied for summonses in 15,700 cases after people were found with unlicensed TVs, a 12% increase on the 14,000 who were prosecuted in 2008. The company said its inspectors carried out 220,180 visits to the end of October, an average of more than 22,000 a month.