RTÉ loses another €1.5million in licence fees in major blow

RTÉ has lost another €1.5million in unpaid TV licences, bringing its total losses over a scandal-hit 12 months to €27.6million.

A year since the hidden payments controversy at RTÉ came to light, people in large numbers are still refusing to renew their TV licences.

Over 172,800 people who previously paid the fee have now opted out of renewing their licence, bringing RTÉ’s losses to €27.6million since June last year.

With no sign of recovery in licence fee revenue, the Government has said it will decide on a new funding model before the Dáil recess in July.

Legislation to change the licence fee could be introduced in the autumn at the earliest. However, with a general election due in ten months at most, the TV licence could be here to stay until the next term of government in 2025.

The broadcaster lost €1.5million in May after three independent reports into RTÉ’s corporate governance and human resources problems were published.

The reports contained more than 100 recommendations and were highly critical of weaknesses in risk management and internal controls at the broadcaster, which led to the crisis.

RTÉ has since accepted the recommendations and has pledged to show the Government its implementation plan this month. The Coalition has committed to a €40million bailout for RTÉ, but has said the station will have to set out how it will implement change before the money is handed over.