Minister for Media, Catherine Martin has said it is too early to tell whether a drop-off in the number of TV licence fees is a long-term issue.
The fall in fee payments, which are a legal obligation for having a television, follows a scandal involving the main recipient of the licence fee, RTÉ.
The minister said there was a 31 per cent reduction in TV licence fee payments in the second week of July compared with last year.
There were 8,922 sales of TV licences in the second week of July, compared with 12,981 in the same week in 2022.
This follows a 27 per cent decrease in the renewals of TV licences in the first week of the month compared with the same period last year.
The controversy began on June 22nd when RTÉ said it had incorrectly declared the earnings of its star presenter Ryan Tubridy by €345,000 over the period 2017-2022.
This has led to intense scrutiny of Ireland’s public service broadcaster, including a look at its governance and accounting practices and hospitality given to RTÉ’s advertising clients.
There have been concerns about whether RTÉ would suffer a loss of revenue both through fewer people paying their annual €160 TV licence fee, and by a drop of advertising clients as a result of the debacle.
Approximately 85 per cent of revenue from TV licence fees goes to RTÉ to carry out its public service broadcasting commitments.
Speaking to reporters in the Temple Bar area of Dublin for the launch of new supports for the nighttime economy, Ms Martin said: “I think it’s too early to see if that’s a long-term trend.”
Ms Martin said she needed more data before she made a decision on possible interim funding for RTÉ in September.
She added she would stay in contact with RTÉ over its commercial revenues in the coming months.
She also said it is “really important” for people to pay for their TV licence, adding it was the “law of the land” and vital for public service broadcasting.
Former communications minister Richard Bruton said earlier on Tuesday that the figures represented “very worrying trends”.
“It looks like since late June when this broke there has been a decisive impact,” he said, but added that it remains to be seen how long it lasts.
“You have to worry that this is a trend that won’t be easily reversed,” he told RTÉ Radio.
He said the Government’s decision not to remove the €160 licence fee and to fund RTÉ directly from the exchequer would “have to be revisited”.
