Even if you don’t have a TV…
Plans for a controversial broadcast charge were shelved by the government earlier this year.
But it seems as if a radical overhaul of the current TV licence structure is on the cards according to the Irish Independent, who viewed proposals in a report for an upcoming Oireachtas Committee.
The plans include a household charge which all houses will have to pay regardless of whether or not they own a TV or not.
Earlier this year, the Director General of RTÉ, Dee Forbes addressed the government to ask for a review of the Broadcasting Act, and also to suggest an increase in the TV licence fee. The fee currently stands at €160.
It’s now thought that the previously abandoned plans regarding a broadcasting charge to cover people who watch TV online services on their tablets or laptops is being reconsidered.
TV licence fees, or indirect charges to fund public TV stations, are found in about two-thirds of European countries.
But in recent years, both Finland and Iceland have abolished the charge in favour of a public broadcasting service tax on all adults.
Irish broadcasters have been suffering from increased financial pressures due to lower advertising revenues in recent years.
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