It appears public anger at the payments to presenters scandal in RTÉ has not abated – with an additional fall of €900,000 in the first week in August bringing the total drop in TV licence revenue for the station to €3.7m since the controversy began.
RTÉ reported that “TV licence sales for that week were 9,361 compared with 15,030 in the same period in 2022 – a drop of 37% according to data from the Department of Media.”
New figures show that TV licence revenue fell again in the first week of August, with €900,000 less revenue collected than in the same week last yearhttps://t.co/Nbz6cO2wR8
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) August 9, 2023
The station said July saw a drop of €2,767,520 in revenue in July compared to the same month in 2022.
“In total, TV licence revenue is down nearly €3.7 million since the broadcaster was engulfed in controversy over secret payments to presenter Ryan Tubridy,” RTE News reported.
However, despite the row, RTÉ says it requires a top up in its funding from the taxpayer – despite getting almost €200 million in annual payments. In 2021, RTÉ received €191 million in licence fee monies for, example.
A TV licence in Ireland costs €160 a year, for both homes and businesses. Inspectors have a legal right to call to your home to see if you have a licence.
More than 3,500 people had been brought to court by the end of June this year over failures to pay TV licence fees.
Minister Catherine Martin has said that she will wait until September to get a clearer view of non-payment trends in regard to the licence fee before deciding whether the station should get extra funding.
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