Use TV licence fee to support local media, says Cllr

Independent Shane P O’Reilly’s motion was tabled at the January monthly meeting.

A Cavan County Councillor has put forward a proposal for the cost of the TV licence fee to be divided to also support future viability of local media in Ireland, both print and radio.

Independent Shane P O’Reilly’s motion was tabled at the January monthly meeting of elected members, and only after he delivered a scathing rebuke of the festive TV offering provided by national broadcaster RTÉ.

“If it doesn’t involve Dermot Bannon, Ryan Tubridy or Jennifer Zamparelli, then there was nothing else on,” he said of flicking through the RTÉ channels over Christmas.

He went on to say that 12 different programmes shown on Christmas Eve and New Year were “repeats” of programmes already shown.

Continuing in defence of Irish made programming such as Irish Fittest Family, Cllr O’Reilly was aghast to learn of late that the show might soon be axed due to production costs.

“It really is annoying me,” he said of the €160 paid for a TV licence each year, and questioned how the cost of a “few ropes and a lock of bales” would prompt the dropping of Ireland’s Fittest Family.

Cllr O’Reilly credited regional newspapers and radio stations for the role they played, covering various events of local interest.

He noted the legacy of The Anglo-Celt in particular, in existence since 1846, but lamented that it was a sad reality of the industry that the publication’s printing plant in Navan had closed and the process instead moved to Dublin.

“The TV licence is wasted on wages and poor programming,” stated Cllr O’Reilly.

Cathaoirleach John Paul Feeley welcomed the development late last year, which saw the government introduce in Budget 2023 a measure to change the VAT rate on newspapers, applicable as of January 1, 2023. Newspapers and news periodicals, including digital editions are now zero rated.

He too mourned that such measures were needed because “less and less” newspapers were being bought nationally as new readers instead switched their focus on online resources.

“There is that fall off, and it is unfortunate in many ways.”

Aontú’s Sarah O’Reilly seconded Cllr O’Reilly’s motion.

“Local media need our support,” she acknowledged. “During Covid we all relied on local media.”

She also lauded the efforts of channels such as TG4 to provide authentic and new programming.

Fine Gael’s Trevor Smith also supported the motion.