Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 June 2016
13. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if and when he will replace the television licence fee with an alternative funding mechanism; if he is satisfied with the performance of An Post in collecting the current licence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16112/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish the Minister well. He is in a complex and interesting Department. I hope he is here for a good while; I hope we are all here for a good while to tackle some of the issues. How does he think we should fund public service broadcasting?
I have no plans to replace the current television licence fee with an alternative funding mechanism.
I recognise the important part that the independent public service broadcasters play in our democratic society. The provision of stable and adequate funding is essential to ensuring the continued delivery of their role in this regard.
Part 10 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 outlines the statutory basis for the television licence and the associated collection mechanisms. Section 145 of the Act designates An Post as the issuing agent of the Minister with regard to television licences and tasks it with collecting the licence fees. I am satisfied that An Post is meeting its obligations as set out in the Broadcasting Act.
I am very much aware, however, of the challenges that face the existing television licence system, including the current, unacceptable levels of evasion. In that context, my Department has been working with An Post and RTE on an ongoing basis so that all steps are being taken to ensure the system is working as effectively as possible. My Department is also examining a number of additional actions that might be taken, including legislative measures, with the aim of further strengthening the system.
I know it is difficult in government at the moment, particularly with a minority government. Some people are critical and claim the Government will not be able to make a hard call. I have a slight fear that the Minister's answer gives a sense of just keeping things the same or seeing if we can tweak it. In the short run, it may avoid the Government getting into a difficult contentious issue. However, we need to be careful. Broadcasting is an important part of our democratic structures. I am not sure the funding mechanism is working. We may need to consider the wider funding issue in terms of the broadcasting fund for other broadcasters. We should look at the effect of the Internet on other Irish broadcasters. We also need to look at the effect of international broadcasters, including Sky and others which earn huge amounts of money in this country. We need to address the issue of how we protect and provide good-quality public service broadcasting delivered both by the independent sector and by RTE. I am not sure if just tweaking system will do it.
I take the Deputy's point. There was a proposal to introduce a public sector broadcasting charge that would apply across the board. When I came into the Department, I took the decision that efficiencies could be made regarding the television licence. There is a considerable level of evasion, far more than anywhere else where there is a television licence in place. We need to address that issue.
I take on board the Deputy's points about broadcasters. It is important that we have a strong and vibrant broadcasting sector in this country. However, to talk about introducing another domestic charge now and effectively get people to pay again for those who are not willing to pay for anything is unacceptable. There is a significant cohort of people who are not paying for anything. There are issues and anomalies with signing the certificate to confirm they do not have a television and we have to look at that. There are also issues with collection.
It is not just the issue of evasion, although that is an issue. It is also the fact that technology is changing. I do not watch television on a television set too much; I watch it on my phone or my desktop computer. I can understand why the Minister might not want to make a change. However, he should still do the basic underlying research for other options, even if they are introduced in the next year or two. He should start to look at the options so that any future government does not need to go through the same process. Things change in this area very quickly. Leaving broadcasting as a kind of atrophy in a system that is no longer relevant because of technological changes does not do broadcasting a favour. The Minister should keep his mind open to it. Perhaps he could establish a commission, bring people in, bring the Opposition in and look at options. Even if we are not committing to do anything, looking at the options might be a good use of the time we have in the next two to three years.
There are a number of practical steps we can consider in the short term. One of those relates to collection, as I mentioned. There are also issues with the content on all the Irish broadcasters, RTE, TG4 and TV3, being used on other platforms. That is not only an issue for existing traditional providers but also for other technological uses of it. We are looking at many of these aspects. It is not just about the television licence. We will probably introduce legislation in this area, which in consultation with my colleagues in this House I hope can be supported. We are not closing the door on looking at all options. The reality is that there is significant evasion with the current model and I want to address that.
