Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The TV Licence evasion rate, or the estimated percentage of licensable premises not possessing a TV licence, is calculated on the basis of comparing the total number of TV Licences issued, including both direct sales by An Post and ‘free’ licences provided by the Department of Social Protection under the Household Benefits Package, with the total number of licensable premises.

The number of licensable dwellings is based on regular CSO data, which is modified to take account of homes which are believed to be without a liable device using data from TAM Nielsen regarding household TV penetration. The formula employed to arrive at the number of non-licenced premises is agreed by my Department, An Post and RTÉ.

The total number of TV Licences issued in 2023 amounted to 1,346,068, comprising 824,278 from direct sales by An Post and 521,790 ‘free’ licences provided under the Household Benefits Package.

As the final licensable dwellings figure for 2023 is not yet available, it is not possible to confirm the overall evasion rate. However, it is likely be approximately 19%. At this time I am unable to provide an estimate as to when the final CSO figure for dwellings will be available.