Elaine Loughlin: Catherine Martin chose the weakest and least radical course on RTÉ funding

Elaine Loughlin writes: 'Instead of scrapping the TV licence — which she had long pushed for — Ms Martin has landed on a watered-down, stopgap approach to the future funding of RTÉ.' File picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

After much hype and delay, Media Minister Catherine Martin has again shown political weakness by bottling what could have been a defining moment.

The minister clearly had a preferred plan that would have addressed RTÉ’s funding crisis for once and for all.

That preferred plan was backed up by multiple reports which Ms Martin could have pointed to when making her argument.

But it seems she did not have the clout or conviction to convince her fellow Cabinet colleagues and the three coalition leaders that her proposal was worth adopting.

Instead of scrapping the TV licence — which she had long pushed for — Ms Martin has landed on a watered-down, stopgap approach to the future funding of RTÉ, which may have to be revisited in the coming years.

The plan, which will provide €725m in funding over three years, is by far the least radical approach the Government could have taken.

It essentially continues with the current system with a bit of extra cash thrown towards the national broadcaster.

Catherine Martin's disappointing reversal  

It’s particularly disappointing given the fact that the minister herself had strongly voiced support for a model that would have seen the controversial and outdated licence fee model scrapped in favour of full exchequer funding.

Appearing before the Oireachtas media committee last October, Ms Martin pinned her colours to the mast by stating: “I am now of the opinion that when it comes to [future funding] everything should be on the table. With the emergence of this crisis my mindset has changed. So it is just not what the Technical Working Group has [reported on], everything is on the table.”

In an interview late last year, she said that she had “made it known” to the coalition leaders that “I think we now should put the Exchequer funding model back on the table.”

Media Minister Catherine Martin at Wednesday's  press conference about RTÉ funding at Government Buildings in Dublin.

For years now, the issue of funding for RTÉ has been on the agenda but this has spiralled into a full-blown financial crisis since the Ryan Tubridy payment controversy first erupted, later throwing up barter accounts, flip-flops, and hefty exit packages.

Instead of taking bold action that would have defined her time in Government, Ms Martin has announced a three-year funding model, with no commitment in regards to what may happen after that.

There will be no change to the €160 TV licence fee each year and An Post will maintain responsibility for the collection of the levy, despite calls for Revenue to assume this role.

Reacting to the decision, the chairwoman of the NUJ’s Broadcasting branch, Emma O'Kelly, said: “You’d be hard pressed to find anybody to give a rationale for its continuance.

“The Government had two reports. It had the Government-commissioned Future of Media Commission report, which looked internationally at best practice and recommended that the TV license system be abolished and replaced with one of a number of forms of Exchequer funding.

At the end of a heated press conference, Minister for Media Catherine Martin asked the Irish Independent's Fionnan Sheahan that “she be treated with respect” and that she “wouldn’t be screamed at” | https://t.co/yRhIjAgEZ5 pic.twitter.com/KDXarSJK3K

— RTÉ News (@rtenews) July 24, 2024

“It also had the Oireachtas media committee, which again published a report. Again, it came back and said the best way, sustainably for value, for money, for editorial independence, was to abolish the TV license fee. So the government has bottled it, basically.”

With a general election on the horizon, the Government clearly got the jitters and backed away from what would have been a transformative decision on the TV licence.

Announcing the package, Ms Martin was trying but failing to put a positive spin on it all, said Ms O'Kelly: 

“It’s a coalition, we all had different views on this. I am minister in a three-party coalition and it’s well known that there were differences of opinions, and what we’ve reached here is an agreement for the first time ever to have multi-annual funding.”