Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I am not in favour of tax amnesties and I am surprised to hear him advocating them. I thought it was something he was against. The law is clear. People have to pay the TV licence and I encourage people to pay the TV licence, not just because of the law but because of funds. It is really important to have public service broadcasting including the news, current affairs, children's programmes and Irish-language programming. While most of the money goes to RTÉ, it does not all go to RTÉ as it goes to other media outlets as well. That said, it is an outdated charge. It belongs to a different time and I am keen that we agree this year on a new mechanism to fund public service broadcasting, provide for that this year and have it in place for 2025.

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