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TV INSPECTORS ARE carrying out more weekend and evening inspections in an effort to collect more unpaid fees.
The current level of TV licence evasion is around 14.5%, down from 15.3% at the end of 2013.
However, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten said this is “still very high and equates to a loss of €40 million per annum to public service broadcasting”.
The Minister says his department is working with An Post and RTÉ to ensure the TV licence collection system is working as effectively as possible.
He said more evening and weekend inspections are among the measures being implemented.
He also said additional temporary inspectors have been appointed to improve the compliance rate.
However Naughten said that he believes the system needs to be reformed.
This is something that has been echoed by RTÉ’s director general Dee Forbes.
While releasing its five-year strategy earlier this year, the broadcaster said the strategy was “contingent on several financial assumptions”, including an increase in public funding that includes reform of the television licence fee system.
The current levels of evasion (15%) and the high cost of collection (5.5%) provide significant scope for reform without any increase in the licence fee. More than €40 million in additional public funding would become available if the system was modernised.
Minister Naughten said that he has drafted a number of legislative amendments to the Broadcasting Act 2009, including amendments for the tendering of TV licence fee collection.
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action & Environment has considered the proposed amendments and issued a report.
This report is now being considering by Parliamentary Counsel in the drafting process.
He added that a report has also been published on the longer term issue of the future funding of public service media and that he intends to bring proposals to government shortly.
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It’s a licence to squander a television tax on the likes of Duffy, Gibbs, Darcy and Granny Marian. None of these would be employed on any other networks outside Ireland. That Montrose swamp needs cleaning
before I’ll comply
@wacker macker: You must pay a fee for a TV channel even if you never watch it.
@wacker macker: I bet even the kims and Hitler didn’t charge the people for their propaganda channels!
You are dead right. Tubs on huge money when most people can’t stand him either. High salaries for the lads behind the scenes too.
@ianglen: Mayby I’ll get one so. LOL
@wacker macker: You’ll comply if you get a knock on the door.
@ianglen:
Are you German by any chance
Where does their budget go? Not only do they have the benefit of an income from the TV license charge but also from advertising. Now they have to drop one of their orchestra’s because they can’t afford to keep it going. Who is in charge of the purse strings in RTE???
@James Darby: dont open the door we live in dangerous times.even garda are being impersonated.
@James Darby: don’t open the door, its your door. I worked in rte for a week on the roof, if you seen there subsidies canteen you would wonder where your 160 is going. They pay 2 euro for a huge brekkie. Its a disgrace that Montrose kip. Car park near empty by 3 o’clock. There worse than school teachers for scattering out the gate come 3pm
@Frank Cauldhame: Its like the HSE all the money going to that 1% of greedy that think their worth it people. I will not get a TV license I do not not tune into any Irish TV Channel. The quangos that just keep the extra tax robbery of the Irish people that won’t stand up and say NO
@Patrick Mallon: you worked there for a week and know it all !! I’m working there over 20 years and you are talking completer shite about the canteen. The canteen in no way whatsoever subsidised and I’ve never in over 20 years paid €2 for a huge breakfast. And about the car park empty at 3pm, in your whole week in there did you not discover that a large number of staff work irregular shift patterns and sometimes my car is gone by 3pm because I’ve been 6am or 7am.
@Jason Ebbs: *because I’ve been in work since 6am or 7am*
@Jason Ebbs: how much would it be for a meat and two veg lunch in the canteen?
@Jason Ebbs: Don’t know anything about your canteen, but I like many others in this country are trying to put food on the table while keeping the roof over our heads and I do not want to pay a TV licence for any of the over stuffed “Star” LOL gob shite’s working at RTE, I do not watch any Irish TV station as they are all dreadful.
@Jason Ebbs: ah man, you get to go home at 3 because you start at 7am. I really wouldn’t say that to anyone if I were you, did you really do the math on that before you said it,, anyway the point I was making is that Montrose is full of overpaid dossers who get cheap food and are out the gate like rally drivers come 3pm or possibly 3.30pm. Very poor value for money, shut it down and see what goldenboy Ryan and Joe will be paid by new independent stations who may pick then up, I have my doubts they would even get half there rte salaries.
@Ted Logan: honestly. For a meat and two veg in the canteen you’d pay nearly €7. The €2 breakfast is utter rubbish considering 1 sausage is €1:30, a rasher is €1, so for 2 sausage, 2 rasher, an egg and portion of beans, slice of toast you’d EASILY pay €6-€7. It’s not a cheap canteen by any means and it’s run by outside catering contractors. Because its worth a lot of money to catering contractors some things are cheap and they take a hit, small bowl soup €1, but yoplait yogurt that you’d pay .50c in the shop is .80c in the canteen, a pint of milk is practically double the price that you’d pay in the shop, you are charged .40c for a cup of hot water. It’s not a cheap place at all.
@Patrick Mallon: yep I done the math it’s 8hrs. Same as 9 to 5. Anyway who am I to contradict someone who spent an astonishing whole week working in the place. Btw the roof still leaks.
@Charliegrl80: absolutely no issue with comment whatsoever. You think the vast majority of staff working the coal face in RTÉ don’t have a problem with these huge salaries ?
@Jason Ebbs: I wasn’t fixing your leaky roof, got news for you, most peoples days is a lot longer than 8 hours. Anyway 8 hours in rte means 5 to 6 hours work, sure your in that cheap canteen all day. Asks tubs to fix the leak, should be no bother to him
@Patrick Mallon: I’ll explain it to you the best I can, didn’t think I’d have to because you worked there for the week. It’s called irregular shift patterns, a huge amount of RTE staff do them, so cars coming and going at all hours of the day and night. For example my car would have left the car park early in the day on some days during the week, but yesterday I drove into the car park at 10am and left 14hrs later at 12 midnight. You think that the vast majority of staff in RTE agree with the vast salaries of Tubs and co. ?
RTÉ still spending millions on its “stars” .. The late late show guest list is older than the book of Kells. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have Derek Davis frozen in the bowels of Montrose hoping to resurrect him in the future. The thought of hiring new talent just doesn’t cut it at RTÉ
@Dean Anderson: It takes serious training and years of azz licking before you’re trusted to present government propaganda. New talent doesn’t stand a chance.
@Dean Anderson:
What talent
Keelin Shanley is very easy on the eye. I watch 6 one with the sound off just to see her wonderfully pretty face…..[thats my confession for this week] lol.
When real criminals don’t get sentenced, but if you don’t pay your TV licence you get could get jailed..
@ianglen: cant remember when I had a TV licence last, must be over 5 years ago.
@Gus Sheridan: you’re the same chap that would say it’s a disgrace I’d there was no national broadcaster. Get a job boy.
@ianglen: That’s to ensure the plebs are kept in their place. The elites of Ireland must be paid to the international standard otherwise they might leave LOL.
How else can the so called celebrities at RTÉ continue to live in the style they have become accustomed to? If they had to live by their wits and talent they would starve to death.
@MK76: Touché Ryan.
In Portugal the TV licence is collected as part of the electricity bill…no need for inspectors, licences and everyone pays, of course its no where near as expensive as in Rip Off Ireland
What, even if they don’t have a television? Don’t give them ideas.
How are they not getting that many people are simply not bothering with the telly anymore. A good few friends of mine including myself have simply got rid as it is just a noise in the background now. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of foreigners that don’t bother either. If they added those in their figures the “evasion” rate will be a lot lower. Rte is Not an essential service but yet gets more print time than say Post offices schools bus routes etc. fg want to privatise anything that moves except this over paid behemoth apparently..
@Stephen Walsh: Agreed. Haven’t had one for 15 years.
One day we decided that we’d simply had enough of having endless repeats of Reeling In The Years and blatantly biased ‘news’ foisted on us.
@Stephen Walsh:
If Minister Naughten gets his way a new Household Broadcasting charge will be introduced where every household in the country will have to pay the equivalent of the current TV license fee to be collected by revenue irrespective of whether there is a TV in the house or not a proposal first mooted by Pat Rabbitte who remarked when questioned on the issue of some people not owning a TV:
‘There are no neanderthals left in Ireland – all must pay’
@Stephen Walsh: Same here, we all drifted away from TV, the format is no longer the preferred format to watch anything.
That coupled with the constant advertising, state sponsored propaganda and the overbearing Dublin 4 ethos has left RTE high and dry.
@Gene Dexter: take to the streets
@john brown: don’t bother, simply don’t pay the scam. It really is that simple.
Didn’t know RTÉ owned thejournal.ie ??
How is this news?
No intentions of ever having a tv licence. I pay through the nose for every service I use, I don’t use RTE. As the government want to privatise everything they can start with that, then we will see who’s interested in paying for it.
Don’t want RTÉ…
We are being forced to pay for something we don’t want. An absolute scandal.
@Derek Poutch: even worse! I separated with my husband and left the house. The TV licence is in my name. Kept paying from February since I left as I had other urgent things to sort. At the beginning of this month I rang to tell them I’m not living at that address and I wanted to cancel my direct debit. They said it’s not possible and I must pay it. I really don’t know what to do
@Paula Mihaela: Try Tinder. Good luck!
@Paula Mihaela: just block it at the bank
@Paula Mihaela: Tell the bank you lost your card they will issue you new card with new card number all direct debits will stopped worked for me lol
@Jay Riain: you can block this scam directly with your bank.
Multi channel Sky starts at €30 a month, I think. Netflix with multi choices €10 a month, licence to pay the RTE set, €13.50 a month, it roughly works out. Jail time if we do not pay!? … racketeering! It should be a choice, pay monthly, and no consequences if we do not choose it.
Time has moved on and we no longer need or want RTE 1. It needs to be closed down and the property at Montrose sold for housing.
The public object to the high salaries in rte,and its a dying institution.
Should be subscription by choice end of story.
The broadcasting licence as it is referred to in legal circles is unfair. It’s one licence per property, for example a family home or an apartment pay the same amount for their license as a Hotel with 100 plus TV or any other entailment property eg Super/ Sports Pubs.
I have no doubt that hotels never pay the licence fee.
@Liam Lally:
Actually your wrong ‘ hotels pay for TVs in their Bars etc ‘ also have a higher rate & also pay to the music rights people etc etc etc
If they stopped paying those wasters on RTE the ridiculous wages the inspectors wouldn’t have to work evenings and weekends harassing people
What? You’re expected to pay your way?
@MK76: Paying your way is only for the minnions. Everyone else gets a free ride, because the minnions can be forced to pay.
@MK76: whose way? In what?
I’ll have the kettle on :) so looking forward to a visit
Just give it to revenue to collect or else abolish it. You can’t be having a charge that only a certain proportion of the people will pay. Everyone pays or no one pays. Simple.
I don’t watch Irish programme are crap
I chucked out my telly years ago, it’s an outdated concept watched by sheep. No tv, so no licence.
The TV set is an instrument of mind control.
It was thrust upon humanity. It originated in the darkest areas of Satan’s bowels.
Avoid it as much as possible.
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