Rabbitte considering impact of changes to television licence fee

MINISTER FOR Communications Pat Rabbitte said he would be mindful of the impact on people paying the television licence fee when deciding if it should be modified.

He said he expected to receive the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) review of RTÉ’s 2010 public-service commitments and adequacy of funding in the next fortnight. “This review will contain a recommendation from the authority on a licence-fee modification,” he said.

Mr Rabbitte said he would also have to consider the impact a modification would have on the recipients of net television licence fee receipts.

The legislation, he said, provided that he paid about 88 per cent of net receipts to RTÉ, 7 per cent to the authority and 5 per cent to TG4, in addition to its direct grant-in-aid from exchequer funds.

Fianna Fáil spokesman on communications Éamon Ó Cuív suggested giving money back to those paying the licence fee rather than paying exorbitant salaries to some employees on top of generous holidays. “When the Minister speaks to the BAI regarding RTÉ’s expenditure, will he seek a detailed outline of all the costs incurred by the station over the past year as a result of libel actions?” Mr Ó Cuív asked.

Mr Rabbitte said that while the alleviation of charges, fees or levies on people would be helpful, he was not sure that in itself a reduction in the licence fee would significantly mitigate the burden.

He added that the issue of a small number of high-earning contract staff was primarily a matter for the RTÉ board and management. It was not fair to broadcast the canard that ordinary RTÉ workers were paid exorbitant salaries, said Mr Rabbitte.