In the midst of the current RTE scandal, there has been plenty of online debate about who pays for their TV license and where exactly the money is going.
The €160 TV license is required by law for anyone who owns a television in their home in Ireland. Failure to pay your license can land you with a day in court and a hefty fine. However, there are certain ways to avoid the fee.
In the midst of one of the biggest broadcasting scandals in recent years, there has been a lot of speculation about where the money from your TV license fee actually goes.
As such, new data acquired by Casinos.com has shown which counties in Ireland have the highest search volume relating to the phrase ‘How to avoid paying the TV license’.
Top Irish county looking to avoid paying TV licence – County Cavan
New research has revealed that Cavan is the Irish county with the highest TV license evasion. The second-highest search comes from Westmeath, followed by Dublin in third place, Kilkenny, and then Kildare.
However, the results show that the number of people researching this every month is very low, with just 500 people across the country searching for how to avoid paying the TV license.
A spokesperson at Casinos.com said, “We began measuring the daily search volume for this research a few days after the news about RTE made headlines in June.
“It became clear that people some counties were searching for how to avoid paying the TV licence more than others and this volume of people will only increase in the months ahead you would expect, especially in the aftermath of what has happened at RTE.
“People will be far less willing to part ways with €160 now that they know where some of it goes.
“With that said, it’s important to note also that the volume of people searching how to avoid paying the TV license is still very low, so it’s a very small percent of the population who are actually Googling this”.
The most honest counties – Tipperary, Clare and Waterford
As per the research, certain counties had zero searches on how to avoid paying your TV license for multiple days, so do not feature on the list.
Some of the more “honest” counties include Tipperary, Clare and Waterford. Recent figures from An Post, which is responsible for collecting these fees, showed that more than €152 million in revenue had been generated by the TV license fee last year.
RTE has previously complained about a failure to collect around €65 million worth of TV license fees annually.
Some households are eligible for exemption from paying. For example, those who qualify for the Household Benefits Package. In 2023 so far, over 3,500 people have been brought to court over failures to pay TV license fees.
Irish Consumers’ Association policy and council advisor Dermott Jewell said, “RTÉ is going to have a big task ahead of them to outline the importance of how they’re going to spend it and how the fee will be used to the best advantage of those who must pay a bill”.
