TV licence on benefit costs 'not tenable'

THE €55 million a year the Government spends on television licences for people on benefits cannot be justified and should be reduced in the budget, Minister of State for European Affairs Dick Roche has said.

Mr Roche said he was not opposed to RTÉ having a licence fee and advertising revenue, but described as “not tenable” the continued contribution by the Department of Social Protection.

“The social welfare budget is effectively providing a subsidy to RTÉ and I don’t believe that’s appropriate. It can’t be justified. If there’s €55 million going, I can think of an awful lot more meritorious things to do with it,” Mr Roche said. “If I personally controlled it, it would be substantially reduced.”

However, Mr Roche said the cost should not fall to pensioners and other benefit recipients. Instead he proposed an amendment to legislation to ensure they would be exempt.

Payment for the free TV licence scheme is made by the department, on behalf of a percentage of its “clients”, to the Department of Communications, which transfers funding to RTÉ.

A spokeswoman for Minister for Social Protection Éamon Ó Cuív, said no decisions had been taken about the budget. She confirmed the cost of the free TV licence scheme was € 55.7 million in 2009 and the projected cost for 2010 was €59.2 million.

Meanwhile, RTÉ has responded to criticism of Pat Kenny's television programme, The Frontline, raised at the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday night. Limerick West TD Niall Collins proposed a party boycott of the show claiming FF guests were treated as "the entertainment".

A spokeswoman for RTÉ said The Frontlinewas a "serious current affairs debate programme" on which members of the public, representatives of interest groups, politicians and others debated the issues of the day.