No TV licence for 27 years

A 73-YEAR-OLD has not held a TV licence for 27 years, a circuit court heard yesterday.

Richard Behal has been objecting in principle since 1984 to paying for a television licence.

In December 2005, he was fined €300, with €90 costs, when convicted in a district court of not being the holder of a TV licence. He yesterday lost the appeal at Killarney Circuit Court. The conviction was affirmed but no fine was imposed.

Behal, from Arbutus Grove, Killarney, Co Kerry, stood unsuccessfully as an Sinn Féin candidate in the Munster constituency in the 1984 European Parliament elections.

He told Judge Carroll Moran yesterday the appeal was based mainly on censorship due to RTÉ’s refusal to grant him television and radio time under Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act.

Conducting his own case, Behal said he had not held a TV licence since 1984 and had no intention of purchasing a licence until he had received “some form of acknowledgement or restitution”.

Behal said: “It may seem a trivial matter but this is of immense importance. It has to do with censorship and freedom of expression.”