Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

RTÉ is not the TV licence issuing agent nor the sole beneficiary of the receipts, but it does air adverts to remind the public of the statutory obligation to purchase a licence.

While the airing of advertisements is a scheduling decision for RTÉ and outside my remit as Minister, I think it is absolutely right that RTÉ promote the statutory obligation to purchase a TV licence. I understand the main strand of advertisement focuses on reinforcing that obligation, as well as explaining how to pay. The second strand of adverts focuses on demonstrating the breadth of public service content.

Prior to the end of June 2023, RTÉ also ran TV licence advertising on other media platforms, such as TV, national and regional radio stations, digital radio and video on demand. The cost of this in 2023 was €217,000, while the total spend on off-RTÉ advertising for 2022 was €396,000. Off-RTÉ advertising was paused in July 2023 to reassess the campaign. RTÉ suspended paid media advertising as part of a broader cost-management programme. While allocation of advertising budgets and, by extension, resumption of advertising is a matter for RTÉ, I understand its ambition is to recommence off-RTÉ TV licence advertising in early 2024.

As I have said on numerous occasions, all of us who own a TV are obliged to have a TV licence. It is not only the law; it also supports public service content created by the independent sector, including broadcasters other than RTÉ.