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

For the past year, the Government has assured us that the proposition on the future funding of RTÉ would be brought before the Dáil before the summer recess. We have just over a week to go. In the 20 months to April of this year, more than €500,000 has been paid in TV licence fines by ordinary people. In that same time, almost 5,000 people received a conviction for non-payment of the licence. The report of the media committee is being launched today, and I believe a majority of that committee recommends an end to the TV licence and its replacement with direct Exchequer funding. Yet, we still see no sign of Government action. In fact, we have Government Ministers and TDs speaking out of both sides of their mouths. Meanwhile, RTÉ staff and, more importantly, the hard-pressed public at home are kept waiting. When will we see an end to this uncertainty? When will we have a decision and finally move to abolish the television licence?

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