Criticism
The licence has been criticised both in principle and as regards its implementation.
It is opposed for being outdated in a world with an increasing variety of TV channels and audio-visual technologies. Commercial television companies have alleged that RTÉ unfairly uses licence fee to outbid them for broadcast rights to foreign films, TV series, and sports events. RTÉ denies this. European Community competition law prevents state funding of commercial activity, and RTÉ's accounts charge for non-"public service" programming out of its commercial income rather than its licence fee subsidy.
The licence is condemned as a regressive tax, where the majority of prosecutions are of people on low incomes.
The high cost of collection is presented as inefficient. Licence inspectors' calling to people's doors is seen as intrusive. The low rate of prosecution of non-payers is seen as allowing evaders a "free ride". Alternative funding methods suggested include direct funding from general exchequer revenues, or a levy on electricity bills on the model of Cyprus.
A licence is required per address, rather than per person or per set. It has been considered unfair that the same licence fee applies to a single private dwelling as to a large commercial address, such as a hotel or a privately owned business park. In 2003, there was negative comment after a crackdown on unlicenced television sets at holiday homes, and proposals for a reduced-rate licence for seldom-occupied premises.
RTÉ journalists largely support the existence of the licence, and lobby for greater increases in the fee, as being a revenue stream independent of the government and thus guaranteeing freedom from political influence and associated editorial bias. The opposite claim has also been made: that an annual review of the licence fee by the Government leaves RTÉ liable to political pressure.
A survey of public attitudes to public-sector broadcasting was carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute in 2004. The authors noted that "public discontent at the level and inherently regressive nature of the ad rem licence fee is noticeable by its absence, particularly in contrast to the difficulties associated with the introduction of some ad rem service charges, e.g. bin and water charges." The associated opinion poll recorded agree:disagree percentages of 54:29 for the statement "Public Broadcasting should be financed by the licence fee." Respondents were asked what level of monthly fee they would be prepared to pay to receive RTÉ if subscription access were hypothetically to replace the licence fee: the annualised mean and median household figures were €180 and €252.60, compared to the then licence fee of €150, with those who frequently watched RTE programs most willing to pay
Read more about this topic: Television Licensing In The Republic Of Ireland
Famous quotes containing the word criticism:
“A bad short story or novel or poem leaves one comparatively calm because it does not exist, unless it gets a fake prestige through being mistaken for good work. It is essentially negative, it is something that has not come through. But over bad criticism one has a sense of real calamity.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)
“A friend of mine spoke of books that are dedicated like this: “To my wife, by whose helpful criticism ...” and so on. He said the dedication should really read: “To my wife. If it had not been for her continual criticism and persistent nagging doubt as to my ability, this book would have appeared in Harper’s instead of The Hardware Age.””
—Brenda Ueland (1891–1985)
“The aim of all commentary on art now should be to make works of art—and, by analogy, our own experience—more, rather than less, real to us. The function of criticism should be to show how it is what it is, even that it is what it is, rather than to show what it means.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)