TV licence fee could come down if tax was collected by Revenue, says Tánaiste

Micheál Martin said that his preference would be for the fee to be collected through Revenue, with the possibility for the charge to be cut as part of the change.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin says that there is political concern over proposals to have Revenue collect the TV licence, citing the widespread opposition to previous water charges plans.

Speaking in the US, Mr Martin said that his preference would be for the fee to be collected through Revenue, with the possibility for the charge to be cut as part of the change.

“You’re not actually bringing in a new charge, you’re just making it mandatory for everybody because everybody should pay their fair share for public service broadcasting. 

"Revenue would implement it and the yield would be higher.

“In the context of the yield being higher, because you’d have 100%, you could conceivably bring down the cost of it.” 

Mr Martin said that Fianna Fáil has been open to the idea since it was first proposed, saying that it gives public service broadcasting long-term sustainability.

However, he admitted that there are concerns about changing the method of payment for the TV licence.

“I think people are worried about that politically. I understand that too, because people had problems with water charges, but this is replacing something that’s already there and that the majority of people have paid for,” Mr Martin said.

Asked if it would be possible for the Cabinet to sign off on reform to the TV licence before the summer, Mr Martin said: “I think we’d have to do that.” 

“There will take time to get this in place and I think the licence fee is still the key revenue generator for RTÉ and I’m unequivocal in saying that people should pay the licence fee.” 

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

On direct exchequer funding for RTÉ, Mr Martin said that equates to “total Government support” for the public service broadcaster, as well as public service content in print media and local radio.

“We might think, ‘ah we’ll be grand and sure we’ll all keep the dividing lines’ and all of that, but we see what happens all over the world,” Mr Martin said.

“That’s a very serious issue that can’t be just fudged. 

"The idea that central Government for time immemorial into the future would actually be the deciding decision-maker in respect of how much media gets every year, I think can lead to a whole lot of unhealthy consequences for democracy.” 

It comes after Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald called for a full scrapping of the TV licence late last month, describing the Government’s approach to RTÉ as a “merry-go-round of contradiction”.

Ms McDonald has called for direct exchequer funding for public service media in Ireland, saying that this would put the public service broadcaster on a “sustainable footing”.