New Events

National

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

Anti-Empire

offsite link North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Trump Assembles a War Cabinet Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Slavgrinder Ramps Up Into Overdrive Tue Nov 12, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link ?Existential? Culling to Continue on Com... Mon Nov 11, 2024 10:28 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link US to Deploy Military Contractors to Ukr... Sun Nov 10, 2024 02:37 | Field Empty

Anti-Empire >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Can Science Tell Us the Meaning of Life? Mon Dec 23, 2024 19:54 | Dr David Bell
At Christmas time, Dr David Bell reflects on what has true value in this world, the limits of science to tell us what that is and what a baby in a manger might have to say about it.
The post Can Science Tell Us the Meaning of Life? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Non-Crime Hate Incidents Surge in Half of Police Forces Despite Government Crackdown Mon Dec 23, 2024 17:46 | Will Jones
The number of?non-crime hate incidents?recorded by police has surged in half of Britain's forces despite attempts by the previous Government to crack down on the practice, official data show.
The post Non-Crime Hate Incidents Surge in Half of Police Forces Despite Government Crackdown appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Reeves?s Simplistic Thinking Spawned This Budget from Hell Mon Dec 23, 2024 15:44 | David Craig
Simplistic linear thinking by Rachel from Accounts and the Treasury spawned this Budget from hell, says David Craig. A systems thinker would have known it would send the economy into a doom loop of recession and decline.
The post Reeves’s Simplistic Thinking Spawned This Budget from Hell appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link British Drivers Steering Away From New Cars In Their Droves Mon Dec 23, 2024 13:00 | Sallust
British car-buyers are turning away from new vehicles in their droves and keeping their reliable old petrol models going for far longer as Labour's Net Zero war on affordable motors heats up.
The post British Drivers Steering Away From New Cars In Their Droves appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Britain on Brink of Recession After Growth Revised to Zero Following Reeves?s Horror Budget Mon Dec 23, 2024 11:09 | Will Jones
Britain is on the brink of a recession after official figures were revised to show zero growth in the third quarter of the year and living standards fell, with Rachel Reeves's horror Budget blamed.
The post Britain on Brink of Recession After Growth Revised to Zero Following Reeves’s Horror Budget appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?113 Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:42 | en

offsite link Pentagon could create a second Kurdish state Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:31 | en

offsite link How Washington and Ankara Changed the Regime in Damascus , by Thierry Meyssan Tue Dec 17, 2024 06:58 | en

offsite link Statement by President Bashar al-Assad on the Circumstances Leading to his Depar... Mon Dec 16, 2024 13:26 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?112 Fri Dec 13, 2024 15:34 | en

Voltaire Network >>

All Homes To Be Hit With New Broadcasting Charge

category national | rights, freedoms and repression | other press author Wednesday July 17, 2013 19:59author by ciara Report this post to the editors

The Irish Independent reports today: ' Every household in the country will be hit with a new Public Service Broadcasting Charge to replace the television licence fee next year.

Nobody will be able to refuse to pay the charge because it will apply regardless of whether you have a television, computer or any other device that can pick up public information.

The new universal charge will be collected in a way that tackles the current very high evasion rates of the TV licence fee - suggesting the payment mechanism could be modelled on the new property tax.

Currently nearly one in five households does not pay the TV licence fee and this is costing the government €30m a year in lost revenue.

Announcing major changes to the way public service broadcasting is funded. ''Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte today gave a commitment the new charge will not exceed the current €160 a year licence fee.

A public consultation into how the charge will operate will be launched shortly and Mr Rabbitte said ideally he would like to see it introduced by late 2014.

There would be no excuse for not paying the charge, and the only exceptions would be for those currently exempt from the TV licence fee such as households in receipt of the household benefits package..............

For the full text of this report, see: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/every-single-home-....html

There are very few in the working poor bracket who will be able to pay this new charge,it doesn't matter if you do not have a computer,mobile phone,tv you still have to pay this charge.

His logic is apparently everybody is watching RTE - my arse i don't even watch it all i do when im on the internet is go on youtube and ebay and other various sites,not RTE why would i bother plugging into a substandard service full of smug underworked d4 montrose gits..?

Why people are not out on the streets in their masses demanding the resignation of our minister pat rabitte is beyond me,he lied his way into this election saying welfare and disability and education would not be touched - and it was touched,but what wasn't touched were minister salaries - is this really democracy?

As far as im concerned - He is a liar and a thief albeit in a suit with a prestigous job,but he is still a scumbag extorting money from the poor.

Whats your opinion on this? Any thoughts on this are welcome.

author by davepublication date Wed Jul 17, 2013 20:10author address author phone Report this post to the editors

this is rabbittes way of ensuring the d4 guys and gals in montrose rte continue to get big salaries.......this is what its all about......

author by andrewpublication date Wed Jul 17, 2013 21:19author address author phone Report this post to the editors

This is extortion tax,i agree.

We need to be out on the streets demanding resignations.

If this was another country,like paris they simply wouldnt stand for it.

Were fucking eejits to be putting up with this crap,not enough money to clothe and feed our kids adequately.. yet 600,000 a year pat kenny is smiling at us with his smug smile through our television sets,its enough to make my blood boil over..

What makes our government think the poor are happy about paying these extortionate salaries,i do not want to be forced into a situation where im like 'oh i might as well get a tv and plug into rte seeming that i have to pay for it anyway'. And im sure a lot of people will be co-erced into this mindset.

A lot of people dont watch rte, dont listen to rte, dont want any thing to do with rte yet i will be FORCED to pay this 160 extortionate fee.

When are people going to wake up to this country and put a stop to it,we need people power to overthrow these bastards.

Think of the average bills people have 1. property tax(are the council going to mow my lawn as part of this so called ''service?'... 2. water charges,(its only something like 3 cent per gallon in some countries,like saudi arabia that has to pump water in from the deepest part of the ground,and south america,yet were being ripped off)3.broadcasting charge 160 per annum,whats left for paying the car tax,road tax and nct???what about house insurance?
clothes for the growing kids?food on the table?

author by Joe Burnspublication date Wed Jul 17, 2013 21:25author address author phone Report this post to the editors

This is just as unfair as the TV Tax, why should a single mother have to pay the same amount as the richest person in Ireland?

With RTE around with their heavy subsidies they are stifling the market. It's amazing that Irish people cant see this. Sell RTE, scrap the tax and there will be a flood on new stations and Irish programming.

This is ludicrous, having to subsidize a "State" Broadcaster to put out government propaganda. Do Irish people really want news or propaganda? It will also result in more people being jailed for not paying this unjust tax.

author by ciarapublication date Wed Jul 17, 2013 21:31author address author phone Report this post to the editors

While the bourgoise of D4 swan around in their 4x4's after slogging in 4 hours at the RTE studio,being paid buckets off our backs,there are starving children and mothers who are literally beside themselves with depression wondering how on earth they are going to pay their bills and on top of that have food on the table..

There are cancer patients who just got the news off of minister james o reilly that their medical cards are being revoked.

The gap between poor and rich is getting wider and wider by the year,why are we the poor bailing out the banksters and property gangsters/politicians?

Why is it up to us to do all this,while they don't cut their own salaries,yet increase their salaries off our own backs..

author by raypublication date Thu Jul 18, 2013 12:24author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Someone needs to challenge this in the european court of human rights,its my human right not to be extorted for money i simply do not have.

author by newsmediapublication date Thu Jul 18, 2013 13:00author email newsmedia at eircom dot netauthor address author phone Report this post to the editors

The TV licence fee was introduced (not in Ireland) to fund a State maintained television service (the BBC). It was never intended to be a fee for owning receiving equipment but has been twisted that way.

Ireland does not have a State-funded tv station - all of Ireland's national broadcasting services are commercially funded by advertising that cannot be avoided by viewers unless they switch off their sets.

A good lawyer could wrap rings around this Government's intention if anyone was capable of funding a High Court appeal on this issue.

author by seanypublication date Thu Jul 18, 2013 13:01author address author phone Report this post to the editors

For starters the salaries should be brought in line with reality. There is no market justification for the extravagant salaries at RTE.

And,2 points: First, Pat Rabbitte calls people freeloaders - this from the man who will soon be on a 150K pension to which he has contributed about 5%. Talk about freeloaders - thats rich coming from him the fat fucking gout prick!

Secondly, this new tax will ensure that Pat's BFF's in RTE can continue to overpay its 'star' presenters & continue to lose as much money as it wants ad infintum.

RTE gets money from 2 sources: Advertisments,and the State.

author by getridoftherabbittepublication date Thu Jul 18, 2013 13:07author address author phone Report this post to the editors

The first link is of pat being heckled in a pub,the second one is of pat admitting to pre eleciton lies..

When is this country going to wake up?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yUFn-keQns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAS0c5AkiNg

author by paytonwestlakepublication date Thu Jul 18, 2013 15:52author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Pat kennys salary was 900,000 in the boom (and it is now currently at 600,000) of course his pay salary is going to rocket back up to 900,000 after this unjustifiable broadcasting charge is brought in..

Pat Kenny's unjustifiable salary is possible because of ordinary taxpayers money. RTE is funded by both private ad revenue and tax money (via TV Licence). It should be one or the other, not both. It's what makes RTE the bloated, unimaginative, political and nepotistic organisation that it is.

Number of comments per page
  
 
© 2001-2024 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy