Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

At the weekend, it was reported that the Government is considering the introduction of an Internet tax, that is, a tax of €10 to €15 which will apply to everybody's broadband bills, to replace the TV licence fee. At a rate of €15, that would mean €180 for practically every household in the country. Broadband is not some luxury; it is a necessity. Such a tax would be extremely unjust and regressive. The poorest household in the country would be forced to pay the same as the richest. There have been some murmurs in the media since then suggesting that the Government is not going to do this. Will the Taoiseach give us a guarantee that the Government will not attempt to introduce an Internet tax? Will he go further and promise to get rid of the regressive tax currently in place, namely, the TV licence fee, which approximately 50% of the population is currently boycotting? Instead of the licence fee, we need a big tech tax on social media giants to fund proper public service broadcasting.

See this speech in context