Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 15 together.

The current television licence system is such that, except for certain classes of social welfare recipients, if one owns a television set one is liable to pay a television licence. An Post is responsible for the collection of television licence fees and for identifying those persons who have unlicensed televisions sets.

The programme for Government commits to examining the role and collection of the television licence fee in light of existing and projected convergence of technologies and to transforming the television licence into a household based public broadcasting charge to be applied to all households and applicable businesses, regardless of the device used to access content.

In line with this commitment, my Department is examining both the effectiveness and efficiency of the existing model of television licence fee collection in the context of the changing technological environment. It is also examining the applicability of various international models for the funding of public service broadcasting. In carrying out the review to date, my Department has been mindful of the need to provide certainty as regards the funding base for public service broadcasting.

Although it is subject to a certain degree of evasion, the existing television licence fee system has provided a stable funding base for our public service broadcasters. Any changes that may be implemented on foot of the review must continue to provide a secure funding base for public service broadcasting while also recognising the reality of new mechanisms to access television content.

The replacement of the television licence fee by a household charge would not have any negative impact on those who comply with the legal requirements to have a licence and pay the fee. Since a key objective is to reduce evasion, it will, however, impact on those who evade payment. The work undertaken by my officials to date indicates that a household charge is a viable proposition for consideration which can provide a transparent funding arrangement for public service broadcasting. It can also address the issue of new mechanisms to access television content.

The work to date also highlights issues which require further consideration. The issues include how to levy and collect the charge. I hope to have a sense of the timeframe and scale of implementation involved in taking this proposal further in the coming weeks. Enabling legislation would be required for this measure. As part of their work on this issue, I can confirm my officials have held preliminary discussions with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government on the development of a suitable database of eligible households. I expect these discussions to continue once a final decision on the timeframe and scale of implementation of any household-based public broadcasting charge is made.

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