Legislation planned to catch TV licence dodgers

Time is running out for television licence-dodgers as the Government plans new legislation to crackdown the 13% of Irish people who do not pay.

Regulations, to be introduced next summer, mean digital and cable TV companies will have to hand over the names of their customers.

Companies such as NTL, Chorus and Sky will be forced to give a list of their customers to An Post, which is responsible for collecting the television licence fee.

While such companies are unlikely to challenge the proposal, they are likely to request that An Post be stopped from selling on the list or using it as a marketing tool.