TV Licence sales fall by almost €22 million in wake of RTÉ payments scandal

TV licence sales have fallen by almost €22 million in the eight months since RTE found itself embroiled in a series of controversies over payments, according to new figures from the Department of Media.

The figures show that some 137,057 fewer households across Ireland paid the €160 TV licence fee since the national broadcaster made headlines last summer. 

It is a loss in revenue amounting to €21,928,120, and follows public anger which has simmered since it emerged that undisclosed payments had been made to former Late Late show host Ryan Tubridy.

The figures come as the Government appointed Terence O’Rourke, managing partner of KPMG, as the new chairman to the board of the national broadcaster, following the resignation of Siún Ní Raghallaigh, who resigned after Minister for Media Catherine Martin failed to express confidence in her during a Prime Time appearance last month.

In a statement released on Monday, former chair Ms Ní Raghallaigh said she “cannot remain silent” around what she described as her “enforced dismissal” from the broadcaster. She claimed that the manner of her dismissal seemed designed to “traduce” her reputation.

Ireland’s national television and radio broadcaster has found itself at the centre of sustained political scrutiny, with TDs telling the Dail as recently as last week that its coverage of a range of issues has been “woeful” and “unbalanced” as the broadcaster grapples with regaining public trust.

TD Carol Nolan last week said that the institutional reputation of RTÉ “has never been so low or so degraded,” and that people were not paying their TV licence.

“Through a series of scandals, blunders, incompetence and outright negligence around good corporate governance, the situation is now a full blown omnishambles,” the Laois Offaly politician said.

She went on to say that the public are responding by “withholding payment of the licence fee in record numbers,” and that on everything from climate to immigration, the broadcaster had been unbalanced.

“Ordinary people I speak to are not just angry with RTÉ and the Minister, they are absolutely disgusted by the arrogance they see and by RTÉ’s arrogance,” she said.

“For some bizarre reason RTÉ feels it has a right to our trust; it does not. Its coverage of everything, from climate to immigration to the impact of Government policies on rural Ireland, has been absolutely woeful and unbalanced. Independent media has stepped up to the mark and has shown more respect to the communities in this State than RTÉ has,” the Laois Offaly politician said.

“The independent media sector has shown itself to be far more professional, competent, trustworthy, balanced and fair. RTÉ should hold its head in shame. I have seen what has gone on in communities. Very few people I know trust a single word that emerges from RTÉ.”

TD Richard O’Donoghue also accused the broadcaster of “one sided reporting,” stating:

“All they are doing is selling false information, as Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been giving to their members for many years. It is all one-sided reporting. 

“They have no respect for the people who work in RTÉ. They are being directed by the Government on what to say and when to say it. This is what is wrong with RTÉ,” the Independent Ireland politician said.

Responding to a question from TD Brendan Griffin on Wednesday, Media Minister Catherine Martin alluded to the loss in revenue due to less people paying the licence fee – while urging people that it is “vitally important” to pay the fee.

“Total TV licences sales recorded by An Post in 2023 amount to 824,278 compared to 947,924 in 2022;. This is a reduction of 123,646 TV license, or 13%. As a result, gross revenue from TV Licence sales for 2023 amounted to €131.884m, a decline of €19.783m in comparison to 2022,” she said.

“While the sales figures over the last number of months are somewhat more promising, I will once again state that it is of vital importance that people continue to pay their TV licence, if liable. The proceeds from the licence fee not only go to RTÉ but also to the Broadcasting Fund to enable funding support for a wider range of content on broadcasters all over the country,” she added.