LAST UPDATE | 24 Jul
MEDIA MINISTER CATHERINE Martin has denied giving RTÉ a blank cheque under new plans to fund the national broadcaster.
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.
Government also agreed to the provision of increased funding for the Broadcasting and Media Funds, with a further €4 million in Exchequer support delivering an increased allocation of €22.2 million for the wider sector in 2025.
Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Martin said the allocation is less than RTÉ had requested, stating that the station was seeking an additional €30 million for next year.
The TV licence will continue to collected by An Post, who will receive an additional €6 million to improve the mechanism and collection rates.
This will include investment in a new database and data management system.
The minister said today that households could hit with fixed penalty notices if they don’t pay their TV licences within a “set period”.
A technical group will also examine how people consume media, such as viewing media on laptops, and whether that should fall into the TV licence fee remit. Martin said it is time to “move with the times”.
The minister said she is confident the the payment of the TV licence fee is on the rise, stating it has risen 18% on last year.
However, when questioned by The Journal if the government will step in if it falls again in the future, she said it is “something that we would definitely consider”, stating that the government has now given a guarantee to fund the strategy for the next number of years.
She said there is a tendency to focus on non-compliance, while the vast majority of people pay the TV licence.
Martin said she sees the TV licence system strengthening, once reforms are implemented. However, she could not give a timeline as to how soon the licence fee database will be overhauled.
Martin said certainty of funding, and the ability to plan on a multi-annual basis for delivery of agreed strategies is key, stating that the increased funding will meet the needs of RTÉ’s new strategy.
The funding is contingent on a number of reforms promised by the broadcaster, which includes 400 redundancies.
The first 40 redundancies are being paid for from the sale of land on the Montrose site in 2017, said the minister, with the remaining 360 voluntary redundancies being paid for from RTÉ funding.
Questions were posed as to what percentage of the funding for next year will go on redundancy payments, however, the minister said she could not release that information until the Department of Public Expenditure confirms the figures.
Discussions were ongoing on redundancy payments that will need to be paid over the next five years, said the minister.
When asked if she was in favour of a cap on redundancy payments, she said it was something being examined.
“I think we want to be very careful how we manage public funds and taxpayers’ money,” she said, adding it was something being considered.
Taoiseach Simon Harris has said that a new funding plan for RTÉ marks a “significant milestone”.
“The decisions the Government will make today… do make two very significant changes. One – there is a significant uplift in the level of public funding, and secondly there’s multiannual certainty,” he said.
“I felt that we couldn’t ask the taxpayer to put their hand in their pocket and pay any more in terms of an increased licence fee. I don’t think that would have been palatable for people.”
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said the “retention and strengthening” of the licence fee collection system would provide RTÉ with an important independent revenue stream.
“It is important in terms of the independence of media (rather than) total dependency on Government and also in terms of the broader issues around democracy and freedom of the media.”
With reporting by Christina Finn
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