Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

One of the issues we have not really dealt with in this term in the Oireachtas is the financing of broadcasting. We constantly hear on television and radio advertisements urging people to buy a television licence, rather than face prosecution. There are even advertisements to highlight the fact that holiday homes, caravans and the like are required to have a separate licence if a television is brought to them for the weekend. A lot of money is spent on inspectors in travelling around the country chasing homeowners to check whether they have a television licence. A lot of expenditure is incurred in prosecuting people and even after all of this, there is a significant underpayment of licence fee income if the figures are to be believed. An Post gets a cut of the licence fee revenue it collects. It seems that the time has come to grasp this nettle. It would be far more efficient if the local property tax, when it is being reformed, whereby there would be a lump sum payment per household spread over 12 months, was integrated with the collection mechanism. I know that would not deal with everything because it would not deal with pubs, hotels and places of business, but as far as ordinary householders are concerned, it would seem to be a far more equitable and efficient way of collecting the amount due. If the television licence fee is around €160, a person with a caravan, to be strictly compliant with the law, has to come up with €320 out of his or her pocket every year. How much does someone have to earn if he or she is paying tax at the top rate, as many do, to be able to pay that amount? It turns out that he or she has to earn approximately €640 to pay for two television licences out of his or her after tax earnings. The time has come for the Government to face up to this issue, be honest and collect the fee in an efficient way and give the pretence that it is a licence which is a form of taxation. It is a broadcasting levy. Surely the time has come for us to face up to this issue. It has been hanging around for years, ever since the former Minister for communications, Pat Rabbitte, talked about cavemen. It must be addressed at some stage.