An Post and government to finalize television license arrangements

A new agreement on the collection of television license fees is being finalized between An Post and the government, which will require the provision of new detailed information on home inspection data and levels of evasion, writes Samantha McCaughren.

About E200 million is collected in license fees every year, but RTE has raised concerns about the level of evasion in license fee collection several times and claims it is twice that in Britain.

It estimates that around 16 per cent of eligible households do not hold a valid television license. For the first time, An Post will have a service level agreement (SLA) with the Department of Communications governing the issue.

“Once finalized, it will give greater information to the department in relation to license fee collection and represents enhanced co-operation between the department and An Post,” a spokeswoman for the department said.

She said talks on the agreement were ongoing: “An Post welcomes the establishment of such an agreement to underpin the range of TV license sales, database maintenance and evader detection services provided to the department.

The department will also have some new obligations under the contract. It is understood the agreement will have to be put in place prior to the negotiation of a new collection contract, which takes place every year.

Meanwhile, consultancy firm Indecon has not yet submitted a report to communications minister Eamon Ryan on whether or not there should be an increase in the license fee.

It was due to be finalized in late July, but it is understood that Indecon is still working on the review.

1 GBP = 1.15624 IEP