Ireland’s communications minister has said he is prepared to go to the European Commission for a law change to allow part of the Licence Fee to be directed at private broadcasters.
Denis Naughten has said that he does not believe there should be legal barriers to the use of the licence fee to help broadcasters who claim it is no longer economic for them to produce news and sports programming.
The Independent Broadcasters of Ireland (IBI) says advertising spend is being increasingly directed online. They say the department of communications is preoccupied with the health of public broadcaster RTE.
In a freedom of information request, Naughten acknowledged that opening the licence fee to private broadcasters could breach European State Aid rules, but he would take the broadcasters’ plight to Brussels if necessary.
