Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tens of thousands of people are now refusing to pay the TV licence. The licence, as the Minister knows, is €160 and people are voting with their feet in huge numbers. Is it any wonder? People are understandably angry. They feel they are being taken for a ride. The recent financial scandals at RTÉ, the latest chapter of which is the debacle of Toy Show The Musical, have rocked people's trust and confidence in the national broadcaster. The number of people refusing to pay has soared in the aftermath of these scandals. Sixty people per day face prosecution for non-payment. A staggering 13,000 people were summoned before the courts last year. There is a real crisis now and the danger is that funding for public service broadcasting drains away while the Government twiddles its thumbs.

As public support for the TV licence collapses, the Government is all over the place. The Government's position is a merry-go-round of contradictions and mixed messages that is driving people up the walls. The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, says she is in favour of abolishing the licence and replacing it with Exchequer funding but the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, says the TV licence should remain a core part of RTÉ funding and suggests that Revenue might collect the fee. Meanwhile, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, says the licence should remain in place and that he is not in favour of replacing it with direct Exchequer funding. Only yesterday, the Taoiseach described the licence as "outdated" and said that it belongs to a different time. One can see why people's heads are spinning.

The Government has promised for years to come up with a new model to replace the TV licence and yet here it is, plodding along in a mist of confusion with a licence that does not now enjoy widespread public support. The public wants decisive action on this. For our part, Sinn Féin would abolish the TV licence and invest Exchequer funding into supporting public service media in Ireland to put them on a sustainable footing. This, of course, is in line with the recommendations of the Future of Media Commission Report, which has been sitting on the Government's desk for two years now. Such an approach would remove the unfair nature of the licence and remove the ridiculous idea that the State might chase thousands of people through the courts for non-payment of a licence that is on the verge of collapse. Caithfidh an Rialtas deireadh a chur leis an táille agus maoiniú díreach an Státchiste a chur ina áit chun todhchaí a chinntiú do chraoltóireacht seirbhíse poiblí.

Despite the damaging fiascoes of the past year, people understand the value and importance of public service broadcasting but they want the Government to be upfront about how it is going to be funded into the future. They want a modern funding model that works and delivers value for money. I invite the Minister to bring some clarity today. I put it to him that the Government should scrap the TV licence and replace it with direct Exchequer funding. That, in my view, is the best way to rebuild public trust and ensure a strong future for public service broadcasting in Ireland. What is the Minister's position on this?

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