The Government has played down reports it had scrapped the proposed broadcasting charge, which was to replace the television licence charge from next year.
The Department of Communications, which has responsibility for the broadcasting charge, said the matter would "be considered" by the Minister, Alex White, "in the context of funding of public service broadcasting".
The statement said Mr White's consideration would be influenced by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland's review of funding, which was submitted to the Minister's predecessor, Pat Rabbitte, last July.
“Until the Minister has completed that consideration, and brought those proposals to Cabinet for decisions, there will be no change to the current arrangements” the department said. The broadcasting charge had been championed by Mr Rabbitte, who said people were watching television programmes and movies on computers and even phones. In this way, he said, they were avoiding the need to pay a television licence fee. A new charge on computer usage instead of televisions was seen as blocking that loophole.
The proposed charge to be levied at about €100 per household would also broaden the tax base as some households argue they do not have a television while others do not buy a licence in the hope they will not be caught.
