Minister for Communication to index link the television licence.

Fianna Fáil Councillor Kenneth O’Flynn has called on the Minister for Communication to index link the television licence.

Speaking on this O’Flynn said; “RTÉ have been pointing out significant salaries paid to bankers, politicians and public servants. Yet their ‘stars’ are all paid in excess of An Taoiseach or Barack Obama.”

Continuing O’Flynn said; “RTÉ have failed to deliver in terms of commitments it made when it had a significant increase in the licence fee back in 2001, when Síle de Valera was Minister and given that they have argued the licence fee be index linked that now with deflation the fee should be reduced.”

O’Flynn has stated that he believes that RTÉ essentially has index linked its television licence fee to match the rate of inflation it is now time to bring the fee in line with deflation and reduce it; In February 2009, the CSO announced that during January 2009, the country experienced deflation, with prices falling by 0.1% from the same time in 2008. This is the first time deflation has hit the Irish economy since 1960. Overall consumer prices decreased by 1.7% in that month.Minister Lenihan in an interview has stated that month-on-month there has been a 6.6% decline in the cost of living this year.”

In light of the deflation statistics Cllr. O’Flynn says that he feels a move to index link the television licence to deflation and make a cut in its costs.