Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

What is good for Britain is not necessarily good for us. Saying that the UK has examined this and has come to the conclusion that they should retain the licence fee and attach it to television ownership does not mean we should follow suit. The point is not that we should be charging for Internet connections or treat computers as televisions and charge for ownership of the technology but that we should seek a contribution from households or businesses, however it is structured, but not link it to ownership of an item. The Minister says that someone can make a choice by not having a television and not paying the licence fee but they can watch the television on their computer. They do not need to get a television but get the benefit of public service broadcasting over the radio. We have a hang-up about funding public service broadcasting by attaching a charge to television ownership. To force that, we have potentially an army of people checking 18,000 households, knocking on doors to see if there are television licences attached to ownership.

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