Revenue Commissioners or private debt collectors may be used in the future to enforce payment of TV licences, if new measures are enacted by the government.
The Sunday Business Post reported today that the Minister for Communications Denis Naughten is bringing forth a memo to cabinet which would see the collection of the TV licence fee either outsourced to private companies or handled by Revenue Commissioners. Currently, An Post is responsible for collecting the fee.
Minister Naughten's memo claimed that up to 400,000 people are currently evading payment for the TV licence fee of €160. RTE director Dee Forbes has previously stated that the national broadcaster is heavily impacted by non-compliance with the licence fee and claims it amounts to anywhere between €40 million to €60 million.
Previously, RTE stated it was in "a serious financial position", and reported a deficit of €6.2 million in 2017. Forbes has been pushing for an increase in the TV licence fee to €175, however it's not yet known if the increase will come into effect any time soon.