All Homes To Be Hit With New Broadcasting Charge

national | rights, freedoms and repression | other press Wednesday July 17, 2013 19:59 by ciara

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.