Sinn Féin’s TV license bill challenged over funding source and fairness

Sinn Féin has proposed a bill aiming at shifting away from the TV license model upon which the national broadcaster RTÉ is operating to direct Exchequer funding.

According to the party’s document titled Delivering Sustainable Public Sector Broadcasting and Independent Media Sector, the license fee model was criticised as “regressive.”

It said that the fee does not consider an individual income level, saying that the smaller the income one earns, the greater the burden it will be for the fee payer.

However, Stephan Köppe, a professor in public policy from University College Dublin, pointed out that other public services also have a similar fee-charging pattern.

“For instance, household waste is relatively stable regardless of income. Hence, those on lower incomes will pay a higher share of their income for bin charges compared to those on higher incomes,” he said.

Éamon Ó Cuív, Fianna Fáil TD representing Galway West said that there are “a lot of things” similar to the license fees that people have to pay. 

He said, “ … you pay VAT (Value Added Tax) when you are going to a shop and some are better off than others.”

He brought up the need to raise taxation had the funding for the public broadcaster were in the remit of the Exchequer.

“The Exchequer has to get money from the taxpayers, but they have to tell you how they’re going to raise the taxation,” said Mr Ó Cuív.

John Connolly, councillor for Galway West, said that having the broadcaster rely on the Exchequer’s funding is “impossible” given, according to him, the Exchequer is already stressed to provide basic services to the population.

The proposed bill would also, according to the document, acquit people who have not paid the license fees, a move criticised by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar who said it was “a slap in the face to law-abiding citizens.”

Mr Ó Cuív said that would be “very unfair to those who have paid,” adding that “you couldn’t do that without refunding those who have paid.”

Mr Connolly said, “The vast majority of people are law-abiding,” adding that “it’s unfair to say to those people” that people who have not paid the fees “shouldn’t suffer” from being prosecuted.

He accused Sinn Fein of not asking for the abolishment of TV license fees in the North as they did in the Republic.

“I haven’t heard Sinn Fein say that they’re going to abolish the fees that exist in Northern Ireland where they are in government.”