Leo Varadkar says new 'media charge' could cost more than TV licence

Referring to the proposed media charge, Mr Varadkar pointed out that the television licence fee had not increased in around 15 years. Stock picture

A media charge to replace the current TV licence fee could be set at a higher rate, the Taoiseach has indicated.

Leo Varadkar  has said the Government needs to "grasp the nettle" on how both RTÉ, which is hemorrhaging funding through lost TV licence fees, and the wider media will be funded into the future.

When asked if a media charge, collected through revenue, might be set lower than the current €160, Mr Varadkar pointed to the fact that the TV licence hasn't increased in around 15 years.

"What rate would be set out I think would have to be determined."

He added: "It depends whether there is a charge at all, of course. That's the most fundamental decision we have to make, whether there is going to be an ongoing household charge, like the TV licence or something like it, or whether we go for exchequer funding. But there's no perfect option here."

But he added that he would have concerns about an exchequer-funded model.

Covid inquiry

Speaking in New York, Mr Varadkar confirmed that he will have the terms of reference for a covid inquiry ready in the coming weeks.

“It's not going to be about putting anyone in the dock. There won't be a witch hunt, but it will be about finding out what we did right and what we did wrong," Mr Varadkar said.

He admitted that the Government and Nphet made the "wrong call" during the first covid Christmas when pubs and restaurants were opened and a lockdown delayed but said an inquiry would not amount to a "witch hunt".

In relation to the first Christmas lockdown I think on reflection, both Nphet and the Government made the wrong call. 

Nphet proposed one form of reopening, which would have meant a lot of social interactions and we in Government proposed a different reopening plan, which involved some hospitality and some private houses. 

"In retrospect, there shouldn't have been any opening up at all, because of the Alpha variant. And that changed things fundamentally.

However, he added: "Let's not forget the advice from Nphet at the time initially was that the Alpha variant was not an issue of concern. So there's a lot of things to be worked through. I think everyone involved in that time should recognise that we got most things right and did a good job for the country. But nobody was always right."

Mr Varadkar urged everyone involved to be "reflective" of their role.

"We were slow on uptake with masks and some aspects of lockdown were probably not necessary. I think schools were closed for too long, particularly special schools. 

"I’m not sure it was necessary to suspend construction and homebuilding for so long and a lot of that was driven by public health advice. So, you know, I'd hope everyone will be reflective about their role during that period."

Mr Varadkar also said "personalised criticism" he made about Nphet during a television interview in 2020 went too far.

"I was very angry at the time, the way the advice from NPHET had changed very dramatically overnight. The Government wasn't consulted on that. It was briefed to media before the Government was informed, which left a lot of us [in Government] very frustrated," he said.