Rise in Laois prosecutions over non-payment of TV licence fee
Laois people continue to face prosecution for non-payment, while Goverment consider abolishing the fee.
Rising numbers of Laois people are being prosecuted for non-payment of their TV licence fees, new figures show.
From January of 2022 to May of 2024, Portlaoise District Court has seen 481 prosecutions of non-payment of the TV licence fee.
The figure rose from 196 cases in 2022, to 214 cases in 2023. From January to May of 2024, there has already been 71 prosecutions of non-payment in Portlaoise District Court.
Following the RTÉ payment scandal of 2023, the loss of public trust may attribute to the rise in incidents of non-payment.
As a result of a 14% drop in licence payments over the last six months, RTÉ received €20m in Government funding to make up the shortfall revenue, Director General Kevin Bakhurst has told an Oireachtas Committee.
There has been a 14% drop in TV licence fee payments in the last six months, with 71 Laois people prosecuted.
The Committee recommends that the funding of public broadcasting should go through Exchequer funding- a fund managed by Coimisiún na Meán, Ireland's new media regulator. This is to ensure 'independence from government in a transparent manner.'
A TV licence costs €160 per year. According to the Irish Independent, 60 people appear in court each day nationally, facing punishment for non-payment of the fee.
Failure to present a TV licence t0 the TV licence inspector can result a court appearance. If convicted, you could be fined €1,000 for a first offence and €2,000 for subsequent offences. If you do not pay these fines, you can be imprisoned.
RTÉ say that the payment of the licence fee is used to 'support the production of programmes on Irish culture, heritage and experience and programmes to improve adult literacy,' with the remaining revenue (approximately 85%) from TV licence fees going towards RTÉ's public service broadcasting commitments.
However, RTÉ faced backlash this week over proposals to outsource programmes such as Fair City and The Late Late Show to independent companies, leaving their journalists and union reps up-in-arms.