The collection of the television licence fee by An Post is likely to be criticised in a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr John Purcell, scheduled to be released this summer.Emmet Oliver reports.

The value-for-money investigation is examining whether large sums of money have been lost because evasion among the public is now widespread.

Collection of the licence fee is ultimately the responsibility of the Department of Communications, but An Post holds the contract to collect the revenue and pursue evaders.

RTÉ has been unhappy for some years about An Post's performance and it claims rates of evasion are exceeding 10 per cent.

An Post has denied this and the company says the 100 staff working in the area have managed to keep evasion down.

A team from the Comptroller and Auditor General's office have been meeting staff from An Post and the Department of Communications in recent weeks.

A draft report should be ready by August. The licence fee contract with the Department is renewed every year, although in recent years it has not gone out to public tender.

A spokesman for the Comptroller and Auditor General's office declined to comment on the likely content of the report, but he said the levels of evasion would be investigated.

He said the report would look at the monitoring of An Post's performance by the Department of Communications. He added that all the parties would be allowed to answer any criticisms.

A spokesman for An Post said while it held the contract, the Department was ultimately responsible for the whole area. The Department is not prepared to comment until the report is published.

According to sources, the number of extra houses and apartments built in recent years has stretched the resources of An Post and its team of licence fee inspectors.

However RTÉ wants to get levels of evasion down and supports the contract being put out to tender.

An Post's contract cannot be sustained under European law, the station has previously claimed.

The State broadcaster has told the Government during recent negotiations over the licence fee that the annual fee it pays An Post is excessive and the service it receives is poor.

It is particularly critical of the number of home visits by An Post inspectors.

Meanwhile, advertisements for the post of director-general of RTÉ have been placed in the national press.

Applications must be submitted to a recruitment consultancy by the end of the month. The early favourites to take the post are the director of television, Mr Cathal Goan, and the director of finance, Mr Conor Hayes.

A leading BBC management figure, Mr Pat Loughrey, born in Donegal, is also being widely tipped in RTÉ.

The decision on a successor to Mr Bob Collins will be made by members of the RTÉ authority, which is chaired by the former Smurfit director, Mr Paddy Wright.