Cabinet returns to discuss RTÉ funding crisis as licence fee income continues to fall

Ministers will discuss the worsening financial crisis at RTÉ on Wednesday when the Cabinet meets for the first time since July, as latest figures show the number of people declining to pay the TV licence continues to grow.

The Cabinet is meeting in Avondale in Co Wicklow, where it is also expected to approve a new forestry strategy brought forward by Minister of State Pippa Hackett.

The first meeting of the autumn political term is expected to have a busy agenda but there will be strong interest among Ministers in a memo for information to be brought by the Minister for Arts and Media, Catherine Martin, who has endured some criticism over the summer for her handling of the crisis at RTÉ.

That crisis is expected to deepen in the autumn as shortfalls in expected licence fee income tighten the financial squeeze on the station.

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The latest figures released by the Department of Arts and Media show that in the fourth week of August, the number of people paying their television licence was down by 40 per cent on last year.

[ Coalition to consider options for licence fee overhaul and RTÉ bailout ]

[ RTÉ's lost TV licence fee income: What would its €3.2m share have paid for? ]

The broadcaster was already facing a financial crisis before its income from the licence fee was hit in the wake of the revelations over secret payments to Ryan Tubridy. A series of investigations into the RTÉ scandals is continuing, and RTÉ executives and board members are due before the Oireachtas Committee on Media next week.

Reports in recent weeks have suggested RTÉ will seek a bailout of anywhere between €35 million and €50 million from the Government. But there is strong resistance among many Ministers and senior officials to giving RTÉ what many see as a “blank cheque”, and what one senior Government source characterised on Tuesday as a “reward for bad behaviour”.

Other sources say that there will have to be a commitment at RTÉ to a programme of cost-cutting before any additional Government support is available.

As it prepares for the budget on October 10th, the Government must decide in the coming weeks on short-term support for RTÉ. But there is also the question of a longer-term reform of the system of RTÉ funding that puts the organisation on a firmer footing, though that is unlikely to be finalised until next year, at the earliest.

Ministers are also set to approve a new forestry strategy brought forward by Ms Hackett on Wednesday.

The plan will see some €1.3 billion made available to pay farmers to plant trees over the next 20 years, it is expected. The move comes after the European Commission gave the green light to proceed with the forestry programme.

The grants on offer will be 46-66 per cent higher than those available under previous schemes, depending on the kind of trees planted. There is to be a strong focus on establishing native woodlands with several grant options aimed at encouraging this, it is understood.

[ RTÉ's proposed ‘register of interests’ could apply to staff and contractors paid over €73,000 ]

[ Long-term funding for RTÉ will not be decided until next year, says Minister ]

Meanwhile, a new energy support scheme for businesses impacted by the steep price hike in kerosene in 2022 will also come before Cabinet on Wednesday.

Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney will bring a memo to Cabinet proposing affected businesses will be paid up to 50 per cent of the value of the increased cost of kerosene to their operations between March 1st, 2022, and December 21st, 2022. There will be a guaranteed minimum payment of €500.

Minister for Housing and Local Government Darragh O’Brien will also seek Cabinet approval for an increase in the funding 31 local authorities receive from the local property tax (LPT). Each council will receive an additional €1.5 million this year as part of their minimum baseline funding from the LPT.