LICENCE SPREE

4 in 10 aren’t paying up after RTE scandals | Govt braced for bailout call from network

- FERGHAL BLANEY and SANDRA MALLON

RTE chiefs were left reeling last night after the latest figures for TV licence renewals show almost four in 10 are now not paying the annual €160 fee.

It comes just weeks after the secret payments scandal that rocked the station first broke.

Senior Government figures have confirmed to the Irish Mirror they are now linking the plunge in payments directly to the public’s disgust at the storm.

According to official figures from the Department of Media, the number of licences paid in the first seven days of this month was 9,361, down from 15,030 the same week last year, a drop of almost 40%.

This represents a loss of €907,200 in just one week.

On the back of this, ministers believe the national broadcaster could be facing a massive black hole of €40million in revenues for a year. And it is understood they are bracing for a call from RTE bosses begging for a financial bailout.

RTE normally collects €180million a year in licence fees with another €120million from ads revenue.