Dee Forbes banging the RTE TV licence drum again 60m uncollected fee *poll not working - pl ignore*

Rubberchikken

I'm a resident and citizen. I pay tax. I pay the tv licence. I brought a new tv some years ago and made a conscious devision to not have saorview and not want or have to watch rte.

We have Roku and watch Netflix/ Disney through it. Also DVD box sets. That's it.

Not missing anything on rte and never will.

I'll pay the tv licence mainly because I have no wish to go to court

But I begrudge them every cent. Wouldn't if they were worth it but they will never be no matter the promises made.

NSAman

Having seen the reports of funding on the News and articles online, my personal view is that RTE should be let go to the wolves. If it is THAT important that the government want to give them 50million a year of tax payers money (despite license fees, advertising costs, revenue for RTE Guide(which must make a loss) ) I think it time that privatisation happens.

In the current climate of streaming/foreign channels/internet channels etc., how many people actually watch RTE?

I know I am abroad but I never watch RTE despite having access to it.

Even when home it never appears on my TV or my families TV's.

With all the changes coming through in Broadcasting, why should tax payers fork out an additional 50M a year on top of licensing to pay for what is basically an arm of the government, that is increasingly broadcasting to a smaller and smaller audience?

I thought double taxation was illegal? TV License AND More Government (tax payers) funding?..;)

Let it go, sell it off and let it sink or swim.

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121372251#Comment_121372251

None of the established pollitical parties would contemplate such an approach. They are all four-square behind 'public service broadcasting'...

Hotblack Desiato

RTE is a poor PSB but that is in no way an argument that we should not have a PSB.

jmcc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121373898#Comment_121373898

It uses a hybrid PSB/commercial broadcaster model. It isn't really a PSB. If it was simple a PSB then most of the recent trouble, and lot of historical trouble, would not have happened.

Regards...jmcc

political analyst

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2023/1116/1416887-toy-show-the-musical-lacked-rigorous-interrogation/

Given that RTÉ had an obvious unfair advantage over independent theatre producers, why did the competition authority not intervene on the grounds of the Toy Show Musical being an abuse of supremacy in the market under EU law?

Hotblack Desiato

Because they knew they'd make a bollix of it? 😆

RoTelly

RTÉ did not just fail because of the licence fee. This idea that is going around that things would be different because RTÉ don't have to worry about the commercial side of things or that they are guaranteed an income.

RTÉ clearly didn't know how much money they had, they were like a child at the cookie jar.

"I will have one Mammy won't notice, ten minutes later, a sure I will take another one, who's going to notice 2 gone... a sure I may as well finish the jar she'll be mad as hell that I eat some many at this stage in anycase".

I don't see this culture changing. We don't live in their world.

They get over 10k into their bank accounts every month and then dip their hand in for some car allowances.

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121380110#Comment_121380110

Then why doesn't the government have the law changed to make sure that the culture in RTÉ is changed?

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121380444#Comment_121380444

It would mean work, easier just to give them the money they want.

Really I don't understand peoples opposition to splitting the organization up, into smaller areas.

It would mean the top person wouldn't be on as much money, that each of the resulting companies would have to live with in their means (much like TG4), while providing independent Journalism, choice for audiences and opertunities for producers / creatives.

Its a win-win. IMO, but there is no doubt it would be hard work.

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121380529#Comment_121380529

What's so stressful about changing the law?

JP Liz V1

Dee Forbes sent a medical certificate to the Dail Public Accounts Committee (PAC) this week to say she is still unfit to testify before them

How long now?

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121385813#Comment_121385813

She will NEVER testify.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121385820#Comment_121385820

as my father would say "She needs a good kick up the arse".

political analyst

Cabinet ministers have told the Irish Mail on Sunday that the Revenue Commissioners will be assigned the task of collecting the licence fee. Both funding of RTÉ entirely by the government and the household broadcasting charge have been ruled out for the rest of this government's term. There is speculation in political circles that the general election will take place next autumn.

aidanodr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121388826#Comment_121388826

Article on same

https://extra.ie/2023/11/19/news/irish-news/revenue-rte-license-fee

kravmaga

Well Im not paying the Licence fee, mine was out since August 2023, have had 3 reminder letters in the post, latest was on Friday just gone, none mentioning court yet.

Im going to wait and see what comes next, they cant bring everyone to court as non payments have soared since the Tubs payments scandal.

kneemos

Just add it to the property tax already. Doesn't matter if you don't have a TV,we pay for all sorts we don't use.

aidanodr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121388869#Comment_121388869

Once Revenue involved things get far more complicated. It wont be court initially but will be INTEREST added to amount owed and regardless, at some stage you will end up paying but then also the added interest which will be hefty. Depending on what you do - self employed, company owner etc it could lead to audits OR at minimum puts you in the crosshairs with revenue which most people dont want

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121389065#Comment_121389065

Most likely they will just take it from your wage, like the property tax.

When are they passing the legislation for this change?

capefear

I wonder if you dont pay will the withhold your tax clearance cert if your self employed. I suppose time will tell when the change over happens, it will probably be called the broadcasting licence by then.

SEPT 23 1989

Getting the taxman more involved in peoples lives will greatly deepen the level of anger towards this organisation

do they realise this?

aidanodr

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121389190#Comment_121389190

Its primarily a FEAR thing. Revenue is feared by most. So the gov have resorted to fear as the only solution for collection of TV Licence or whatever it will be called.

Yes @capefear .. I reckon so - "I wonder if you dont pay will the withhold your tax clearance cert if your self employed."

Widdensushi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121389065#Comment_121389065

I don't see how that gets any of current unpaid money, surely it's pass legislation first, you can't backdate that, will there be an amnesty for the fee's between now and then.

SEPT 23 1989

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121389207#Comment_121389207

Self employed people will not be able to separate the RTE Bailout Tax out of their return and not pay it

they either pay the lot or don’t pay which will lead to the sheriff at the door

as I say again the anger will deepen greatly if the government do this

Arthur Daley

Surely tax authority or government have to prove you have a tv to prosecute. If you don't have a tv the tax doesn't apply to you.

Can't see this stunt being accepted in the UK anyway. they know they won't get zero push back in Britain. And the RTE model will have been built on the BBC. Ireland may be a lot more compliant these days.

But the numbers switching off rte lately suggests Irish people have had enough of their nonsense now.

aidanodr

Yes @Arthur Daley .. but a TV License Tax was always essentially an ongoing annual tax on your purchased TV that happened to be paid to RTE who were the only thing on it at one stage. Now the gov are scrambling around as most other govs are to find another tax to replace the TV Tax with.

The gov are facing the same thing where motoring is concerned .. if more andd more is gone electric or hybrid which pay low motor tax, what will they replace it with

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121389299#Comment_121389299

Only so far the NRA have yet to be found in the middle of a mismanagement scandal.

I think many forget that the reason so many people decided not to renew their license fee is due to the scandal that hit RTÉ and due to the over all mismanagement of our national public service broadcaster.

It seems to me that the "Dee Forbes/Moya Doherty thesis" is the current argument for reform of the license fee rather than reform of RTÉ

This thesis that they spout "that the license free is broken/old fashioned and if they had had more money then they would not have had to do what they did" is a pure logical fallacy.

I mean it is insanity to think that the organization that got themselves into this mess should be allowed to get themselves out of the mess they find themselves in.

Windowsnut

Could one pursue a small claims court action for the return of the licence fee?

Fine, there is a legal obligation to pay it, I have done my civic duty and paid it.

But given their failure to provide PSB and "teleshopping" is not PSB, can we not take a small claims court action for the return of the money by way of failure to provide a service.

They have closed DAB, Aertel, now reducing digital radio stations on the saorview service.

To add insult to injury they blast out over the BBC frequencies to block them, but what they block them with is scandalous so we can't even get overspill anymore.

I wouldn't mind if I watched 1 / 2 hours of RTE a week, but the fact is, I don't watch even a half hour.

There is honestly nothing on these two channels that I would watch.

Thane direct Teleshopping, kelly clarkson Dr Phill, Shortland Street, Doctors, home and away, neighbours, fair city, today, that is the menu. There is nothing Irish there, no value whatsoever, if it was a restaurant, I would walk.

We should be able to counter their court prosecutions with small claims actions for failure to provide service.

Who is watching this pure crap????

I would have thought buying sandals with money meant for the State Broadcaster is misappropriation of funds at very least - where are the Gardai???

NIMAN

It'll not be called a TV tax. That's how they will force everyone to pay it, whether you have a tv or not.

They will call it a digital home tax or such like.