SOCIAL PROTECTION MINISTER Heather Humphreys denies being “blindsided” about her department paying an additional €14 million a year to RTÉ for free TV licences for the over-70s.
The Sunday Independent reported that a row broke out at Cabinet last week and that the minister was only informed of the change the night before the announcement about the future funding of the national broadcaster.
The payment from the Social Protection department will rise from €70 million to €84 million.
Asked about the matter this morning, the minister said:
I wasn’t blindsided by that, I can assure you of that.
She described it as mere speculation, stating that she is “well fit to stand up for herself”.
“I make my case for my department of social protection and I’m not afraid to stand up to make sure that the pensioners of this country get the free TV licence,” she said.
Humphreys said there is an increased numbers of older people entitled to the free TV licence, which is why there is an increase in the pay out from her department, she explained.
Last week, the government announced that RTÉ is to receive €725 million in government funding over the next three years.
The station is to receive €225 million next year from TV licence fee revenue and direct Exchequer funding combined.
In 2026, the funding will rise to €240 million, rising to €260 million in 2027.
The announcement follows a year of crisis management at the national broadcaster over a series of governance and financial scandals which further fuelled a years-long trend in declining TV licence revenue.
The government decision was criticised by rival commercial broadcaster Virgin Media Television as a “reward for inefficiency and all-round bad practice”.
RTÉ director-general Kevin Bakhurst rejected the comments on last week, saying: “I don’t see it at all as rewarding a series of mistakes that RTÉ made.
“It’s long been the case that RTÉ’s funding has not been sufficient to deliver what our public service remit is.”
Bakhurst, who acknowledged it had been a difficult 13 months for RTÉ, said new procedures had been put in place to make sure past mistakes “do not happen again”.
“If you believe in public service broadcasting and media, it needs to be funded,” he said.
Humphreys was speaking this morning at the launch of a scheme extending free public transport for people who have never been able to drive due to a disability, and to drivers who have a licence and are medically certified as not fit to drive for a period of 12 months or longer.
“It will give people more independence so they can commute to work and go about their daily lives without having to worry about additional transport costs or relying on somebody else to give them a lift,” Humphreys said this morning.
There are currently over a million people eligible for free transport. The travel scheme also allows partners or companions to avail of free transport if accompanying the pass holder.
The extension coming into effect today is set to benefit around 32,000 people. It was announced as part of last year’s Budget.
- With reporting by Ayush Pandey
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