Politics

RTÉ to receive €725m in public funding over next three years

Licence fee income and direct state funding to be combined for package below what broadcaster sought

Minister for Media Catherine Martin appears to have failed in her bid to have the TV licence fee abolished but has succeeded in securing multiyear exchequer funding for the station. Photograph: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Minister for Media Catherine Martin appears to have failed in her bid to have the TV licence fee abolished but has succeeded in securing multiyear exchequer funding for the station. Photograph: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Pat Leahy
Tue Jul 23 2024 - 20:59

RTÉ will receive public funding of €725 million over the next three years, the Government is set to announce on Wednesday - though this figure is below what the station has sought. The funding will be comprised of licence fee income and direct state funding, though the exact composition of the package is not yet clear.

It is understood the broadcaster sought €255 million in State funding for next year, €260 million for 2026 and €265 million for 2027, adding up to a total of €780m.

The new deal to fund RTÉ is top of the agenda at the final Cabinet meeting before the August break on Wednesday, with Minister for Media and Arts Catherine Martin due to announce the details of the long-awaited package.

It is expected that the television licence fee will be retained but the Government will commit to multiyear exchequer funding to RTÉ, under a deal hammered out between Ms Martin and other Ministers in recent weeks.

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It represents a compromise between the two sides, with Ms Martin failing in her bid to have the television licence fee abolished but succeeding in securing multiyear exchequer funding for the station.

[ Keeping RTÉ licence fee would be ‘deeply disappointing’ - Ní Raghallaigh ]

It is also expected that An Post will be provided with €6 million in exchequer funding over three years in order to improve collection of the TV licence.

[ No plan to expand TV licence into wider household charge under new RTÉ funding model ]

Sources with knowledge of the discussions, however, questioned how much extra funding would be actually delivered and suggested that at least some of the money would come from within the budget of the Department of Arts and Media – meaning that other interests could suffer. It is also not clear how the Government can guarantee RTÉ funding beyond its term in office.

Pat Leahy

Pat Leahy

Pat Leahy is Political Editor of The Irish Times