ieExplains: What is my TV Licence money used for and what happens if I don't pay?
A TV licence in Ireland costs €160 a year, for both homes and businesses and around 85% of the revenue generated from it goes to RTÉ to carry out its public service broadcasting commitments. Picture: Denis Minihane.
In the wake of the Ryan Tubridy payments scandal, questions have been asked about the TV licence.
It was revealed this week that there has been a drop of almost €1m in TV licence fee revenue since the payments scandal emerged, raising concerns that the broadcaster will need a financial bailout.
Put simply, a TV licence is a payment for receiving broadcasts or owning a television. They were first introduced in Ireland with the establishment of Telefís Éireann, now Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), back in 1962, when it cost just £4.
Today, a TV licence in Ireland costs €160 a year, for both homes and businesses. If you have a TV, you must have a TV licence.
There only needs to be one TV licence per household, even if there are multiple TVs in a home. The same applies for business premises — one licence will cover all TVs on site. However, if you have more than one premises, then you need a separate licence for each address.
Similarly, if you have a TV in a second home or holiday home, you must get a separate licence for this house. You also need a TV licence if you have a Smart TV, even if you only use the TV for streaming. This is because it is capable of receiving TV signals.
If you are renting and there is a TV, you must have a TV licence. This applies whether you or the landlord owns the TV.
If you are over 70, you are entitled to a free TV licence under the Household Benefits package. Some people under 70 may also qualify for the Household Benefits Package and a free licence. If you qualify, you become eligible for a free licence from the next renewal date of your existing licence.
Those who watch television on their computers, phones or other devices also don’t need a TV licence as long as those devices aren’t capable of receiving a TV signal by cable, satellite or aerial. They can watch RTÉ Player or use streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime without paying the licence fee.
Approximately 85% of the revenue generated from the TV licence fee goes to RTÉ to carry out its public service broadcasting commitments.
Furthermore, 7% is paid to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) for the Broadcasting Fund which is used to support the production of programmes on Irish culture, heritage and experience and programmes to improve adult literacy.
An Post, the designated body that issues TV licences and collects fees on behalf of the Government, also receives some commission from the TV licence fee.
Unlike the BBC, which is funded by licences in the UK, RTÉ also sells and broadcasts ads. The broadcaster claims this is because "commercial activities" are needed "to bridge the funding gap" associated with public service broadcasting.
RTÉ said: "The majority of RTÉ’s activities are of a public service nature. The cost of providing these services, however, exceeds the amount of licence fee revenue which RTÉ receives."
Of the €221.9m in licence fees collected in 2021, €196.1m (88%) was received by RTÉ. That year, 55% of the revenue generated from the TV licence was allocated to RTÉ’s television channels, RTÉ One and RTÉ Two.
RTÉ’s four main radio stations, Radio 1, 2FM, Lyric FM and Raidió na Gaeltachta, were allocated 19.3%, whilst the Concert Orchestra received 6.5%. Online services accounted for 8% of the licence fee allocation, other channels and services received 5.5%.
TG4 support received 3.9% and the remaining 1.8% was allocated to ‘other’. The remaining licence fee collected, €25.8m, was used to pay An Post collection costs and related charges and to provide funding for the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) Sound & Vision Fund.
From each licence fee collected in 2021, €45.08 of the total €160 paid, went to RTÉ One. RTÉ Two received €32.07 of the overall amount. Elsewhere, RTÉ Radio 1 got €13.06, €2.49 went to 2FM, €8.13 went to Raidió na Gaeltachta and €3.36 to Lyric FM.
RTÉ orchestras got €9.19, €11.16 went to online services, while other channels and services got €7.74. Governance and financing charges accounted for €2.22 and 34c went on Discretionary Trust Tax.
RTÉ support for TG4 got €5.39, the BAI levy accounted for €1.24 and the BAI sound and vision fund received €10.65. And finally, An Post collection costs and related charges received €7.92.
Licence fee income received by RTÉ in 2021 was down €0.5m compared to 2020 due to the curtailment of inspector activity as a result of covid restrictions.
You can buy a TV licence in person at your local An Post office, online, by phone, or direct debit.
If you have not paid your TV licence, you can get a notice from An Post to warn you that you could be prosecuted if you don't buy a TV licence. A TV licence inspector can visit your home to check if you have a TV. If you don't have a TV licence to show the inspector, you could face a court appearance.
If convicted, you could be fined €1,000 for a first offence and €2,000 for subsequent offences. If you have been fined and you breach court orders directing you to pay their television licence, you can be imprisoned.
Last month, The reported that over 3,500 people have been brought to court so far this year over failures to pay TV licence fees.
The Department of Media was advised by An Post, which is responsible for TV licence fee collection and enforcement, that some 5,073 summons were applied for up to the end of last month.
In 2022, An Post generated revenue of €152m on behalf of the department with sales of 947,924, while also carrying out 427,303 inspections, resulting in 14,915 summonses and 9,610 court cases.
A spokesperson said 43% of the TV Licence database (830,000 homes) is now made up of Free TV Licences and No TV Set homes, which they said is a growing concern due to the decreasing number of paying households.
Irish Consumers’ Association policy and council advisor, Dermott Jewell, put the vast majority of failures to pay the legally required fee down to affordability amid a cost-of-living crisis in addition to a growing sentiment that questions value for money.
In RTÉ's Annual Report & Group Financial Statements 2021, former RTÉ board chair Moya Doherty said that there is "a consensus that the traditional licence fee model for funding public service media in Ireland is fundamentally broken".
Ms Doherty said in 2021 that "it is not just RTÉ that is impacted by this broken licence fee model, but also Ireland's independent production sector. "RTÉ is an important catalyst for the growth of the sector and a catalyst for innovation and diversity, but its capacity to invest in the sector has halved since 2008," she said.
"In addition to the crippling effect of the global pandemic on the sector, RTÉ has had no other choice, due to financial constraints, but to cut back on independently commissioned programming. The most meaningful stimulus for this sector would be a reformed licence fee model."
Since the payment scandal emerged earlier this year, there has been a drop of almost €1m in TV licence fee revenue. The number of people paying the TV licence has fallen by 5,837 across June and the first week of July when compared to the same period last year.
Media Minister Catherine Martin announced in July that a Government decision on the reform of the TV licence system has been paused pending the completion of an external independent review into the governance and culture at RTÉ.
Ms Martin made the announcement following a meeting with RTÉ board chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh on the recent revelations concerning former Late Late Show presenter Ryan Tubridy, who was paid €345,000 more than RTÉ had previously declared. Ms Martin said the organisation now faces an “existential crisis”.
