Television licensing in the Republic of Ireland

[2] The FG-Labour coalition planned to replace the television licence with a Public Service Broadcasting Charge on all primary residences and certain businesses.

[3] Asked in December 2014 about the delay in switching from the licence to the new charge, Minister of State Joe McHugh said the government would "be taking more time to work out a very complex system".

[5] In August 2019, Richard Bruton, the Minister for Communications, announced that from 2024 the licence fee would be replaced by "a device independent broadcasting charge", with implementation and enforcement details to be worked out in the interim.

[7] Nevertheless, commentators have suggested the potential loss of income may compromise the commercial viability of rural post offices, which are seen as socially important in isolated communities.

[17] Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte announced a planned government bill to the same effect in July 2014.

[18] In April 2015, the proposal was to allow An Post to access cable and satellite subscriber databases, in tandem with cost-cutting at RTÉ;[19] in October 2015 it was reported that the plan had been shelved.

[20] More than 90 An Post employees work in licence collection, including the inspectors, who visit the premises to verify if TV receiving equipment is present.

[13] In 2010, the Secretary General of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources told the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee that the evasion rate was estimated at 12%, and the renewed contract with An Post would include provision for a 1 percentage point annual decrease in this.

7% of the balance is used for Coimisiún na Meán's "Sound and Vision Scheme", which provides a fund for programme production and restoration of archive material which is open to applications from any quarter.

[29] TG4 does not obtain licence fee revenue directly,[30] but does so indirectly as RTÉ is required to provide it with one hour's programming per day,[31] as well as other technical support.

[37] A 2017 Oireachtas committee report recommended that any increase in revenue from reduction in fee evasion should be allocated to TG4 and independent broadcasters providing public-service programming.

[41] Commercial television companies have alleged that RTÉ unfairly uses licence fee to outbid them for broadcast rights to foreign films, TV series, and sports events.

In 2003, there was negative comment after a crackdown on unlicensed television sets at holiday homes,[44] and proposals for a reduced-rate licence for seldom-occupied premises.

[45] RTÉ journalists largely support the existence of the licence, and lobby for greater increases in the fee, as being a revenue stream independent of the government and thus guaranteeing freedom from political influence and associated editorial bias.

[46] The opposite claim has also been made: that an annual review of the licence fee by the Government leaves RTÉ liable to political pressure.

In 1975, members of Conradh na Gaeilge, an Irish language activist group, began campaigning for an Irish-language television station.

RTÉ successfully persuaded Minister Michael D. Higgins against such a change;[60] although the Sound & Vision scheme now operated effectively provides this, at a low level.

The definition of television in the original licensing legislation presumed a wireless radio broadcast receiver, and it was unclear whether it extended to computers, Internet devices, 3G mobile phones, or other newer technologies.

[2] The 2009 Act also provides for on-the-spot fines and civil suits to be used against those not having a television licence, in response to negative views of the previous use of criminal proceedings, including imprisonment.

[64][65] The programme agreed by the Fine Gael–Labour coalition government formed after the 2011 general election states:[66] We will examine the role, and collection of, the TV license [sic] fee in light of existing and projected convergence of broadcasting technologies, transform the TV licence into a household-based Public Broadcasting Charge applied to all households and applicable businesses, regardless of the device they use to access content and review new ways of TV licence collection, including the possibility of paying in instalments through another utility bill (electricity or telecom), collection by local authorities, Revenue or new contract with An Post.In January 2012, minister Pat Rabbitte told the Dáil the existing licence model was inadequate both because it failed to take account of new media and because the evasion rate was 15%.

[67] The department commissioned a value-for-money report, completed in April 2013, which found that evasion of the licence fee was increasing and that "the most serious threat to the future effectiveness of the current system is likely to arise from the capacity and convergence of new technology".

[69] A September 2015 report by Kevin Rafter for the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland concluded that "Changing viewing habits will continue to undermine the licence fee model.

[73] In July 2018 the government set up a cross-departmental Working Group on the Future Funding of Public Service Broadcasting to consider the 2017 Oireachtas committee report.

[7][6] The media noted that the 2024 date would be after the 2024 general election, and that, depending on the collection method chosen, the charge might be "unworkable without opt-in compliance from the public".