Licence fee hike is necessary to allow RTÉ to do its job properly

DOES RTÉ need a licence fee increase? Yes, it does. Can we afford to pay one? We can’t afford not to. Should we see an increase as another one of the “stealth taxes” that seem to be a feature of our lives these days? No.

Public service broadcasting is a special case this increase is long overdue.

When the Forum on Broadcasting was set up, under the chairmanship of the extremely careful Maurice O'Connell, its terms of reference categorically excluded "issues specifically related to the adequacy or otherwise of the current RTÉ licence fee". It made the job of assessing the importance and survival of public service broadcasting all the harder. But knowing the personnel on the forum, most people would have expected them to stick to the brief. We thought we would have to read between the lines to find any reference to the licence fee.