Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Let us move on. The decision is made and the Minister will not change that. It is about reform. Let us talk about future-proofing because it has been identified that 282,000 homes in this country do not have a traditional TV set. If we start billing for access to this, how can we bill? Many young people are accessing an app to download their news through RTÉ News Now, Sky News or whatever, where they might be paying the provider but are paying nothing to the State. Is that the manner in which the Minister talks about future-proofing because that trend of 282,000 homes is only set to increase? That is what I talk about with regard to sustainability of the model that RTÉ has now.

I could get into a debate that we should support RTÉ through direct Exchequer funding to protect something that the State requires. I do not believe that the State interferes but that decision has been made. I accept that. What I do not accept is that future-proofing will address the fact that the trends are changing so rapidly. Will we really be able to get the revenues? Will there be a targeting of people in terms of accessing news here? There is also a suggestion that the local property tax, LPT, database will be used with regard to the evasion rate of 15%. We see LPT collection is at 97%. Will the LPT database be used to ensure that people are not evading the licence fee any more?