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

I have heard some bluster in my time but that really was a bravura performance of absolute rubbish - sound and fury, signifying nothing. My God, it is remarkable how one person can talk so much and say so very little in response to a very straightforward question. Is the Government for the TV licence or not? I have stated our position, which is in line with the expert view of an expert commission. When it was published, the Government dismissed that view. We do not do that. We accept the commission's view. The correct answer is direct Exchequer funding.

Will it be the licence fee - yes or no?

Regarding paying our TV licence, I am happy to record that I have paid mine. I have made no suggestion that people not pay their TV licence. The Minister should save his homily for the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media, who equivocated on the matter. What I do wish to be clear on is that the State and this Government should not chase thousands of people through the courts for non-payment of the licence fee. It seems that only the ordinary Joe who has not paid his licence is the only one facing the wrath of anyone or being held accountable in the midst of all the scandal. Can I put my question again and can I get a direct answer? Will the Government abolish the TV licence - yes or no?

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