RTÉ’s licence fee should be abolished and replaced by a tax on subscription for television services, according to the chief executive of Dublin radio station, FM 104, Mr Dermot Hanrahan.
The money raised should then be made available to any company making a programme classified as public service, according to Mr Hanrahan. He said the funds could be distributed by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) - which currently oversees independent broadcasting.
The BCI chairman, Mr Michael O'Keeffe and Mr Willie O'Reilly of the State’s only independent national radio station, Today FM, also backed Mr Hanrahan’s call.
He was speaking at the first public session of the Public Forum on Broadcasting in Dublin today. The forum was established last March by the former Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera. It is to deliver its recommendations by July 31st.
Academics, broadcasters, independent programme-makers and interest groups such as unions and IBEC spoke at this morning’s session which was taken up largely by discussions on the licence fee and transparency in RTÉ’s accounting.
Mr Hanrahan said "fuzzy accounting" was "a sinister aspect" of the financial affairs of the national broadcaster and was creating inefficiencies. He said "no-one knows" how RTÉ spends its money and "no-one knows why no-one knows".
RTÉ director-general Mr Bob Collins said other methods of funding public service broadcasting could be considered but that the "issue of distance from government" would always exist.
He said the licence fee should be brought up to European levels and should be index-linked. "The licence fee is not a regressive tax .. it is a guarantor of universality," Mr Collins said.
Mr Collins conceded that changes were necessary in the way RTE reported on its annual accounts, pledging that by 2003 "there will be a degree of transparency and openness in the way RTE presents its information".
He rejected criticism of RTÉ’s populist programming and conceded there was an over-reliance on acquired programming. He said this was because there was not enough funding to provide Irish-made programmes across both its TV channels.
He also defended RTÉ’s record on editorial independence saying the broadcaster had defended complaints in court many times and never lost a case.