TV Licence?

CyberGhost · 20-11-2003 3:05pm #1

i just got a letter saying that i have to pay 150 euros for TV licence? what is that for!? just because i have a tv at home i have to pay the licence? that's the biggest rip off ever!

Syth · 20-11-2003 8:09pm

Well the fundamental idea of a TV Licence fee is so that the country can have a public service broadcaster. Which in a way is good.

But why do they call it a 'TV Licence'? A driving licence requires a test. It's not like you need to be a licenced TV owner...

feylya · 20-11-2003 8:12pm

Ever have your dog tested for it's licence?

Na, as much as I hate paying the fecker, RTE needs the TV Licence money to keep operating and occassionaly making a half decent show like Bachelor's Walk.

CyberGhost · 20-11-2003 10:14pm

now i don't want to pay even more!

is it for a cable? i mean i have a tv at home, i don't have a cable or anything, only tv a device i don't even watch it , do i still have to pay it?

feylya · 20-11-2003 10:16pm

If you own a TV, you have to pay. I think there may be a strange thing that if you rip the receiver out of the TV, you're exempt but don't take my word on it.

CyberGhost · 20-11-2003 10:53pm

WOW! now that is a rip off!

it's good to be in the goverment of Ireland, you can manipulate rules as you like

feylya · 20-11-2003 10:54pm

Exactly. Question - if you never watch TV, why do you have one?

CyberGhost · 20-11-2003 11:23pm

i'm directing this to you feylya, but to the government who invented a TV licence, who would ask the same question as you did

whose the fecking business is what i have at home? i can have tv or a tank, it's my home, as long as i don't have drugs and deadly weapons i don't give a care, i have a tv and i play a playstation on it! it's my tv and my console i payed for it and i don't owe anyone anything, i don't watch to national tv i just play games

feylya · 20-11-2003 11:25pm

Hey calm down. It was just general wonderment. Look into the thing about removing the receiver. Or don't pay the fee. It's up to you.

CyberGhost · 20-11-2003 11:36pm

i'm not mad at you mate! i told you i wasn't saying it to you(so don't take it on your account), it's what i'd tell them, why the hell would i be mad at you? you are helping me

and good question btw, i just came up with that playstation stuff

i'll pay the fee, i know that if i don't pay i'll be the one who didn't pay them the annual rip off and they'll sue me so better to pay, but it's so bad that we get so ripped off by our own country, if that would have happened in America i would image what it would be like there

feylya · 20-11-2003 11:37pm

Originally posted by CyberGhost
i'm directing this to you feylya,

Sorry, that line threw me a bit.

davros · 21-11-2003 12:08am

The TV licence is a rip-off because the manner of its collection squanders EUR10m of the public's money each year.

I support the idea of having a public service broadcaster but it's a silly waste of resources to collect the money for it by forcing 99% of Irish households to individually purchase a piece of paper annually.

An Post charges a fee of EUR10m to collect the licence fee. That means EUR10 of your EUR150 goes to An Post, not to RTE.

If RTE was funded from general taxation (which would rise a smidgeon to compensate), we would collectively be better off by EUR10m a year.

Some argue that the licence system guarantees RTE's independence. But that doesn't hold any water since the amount of the fee (and the proportion allocated to RTE, since the last Broadcasting Act) is completely under the control of the Government.

So kill it. There is a great opportunity now to do away with it since An Post has told the Government it does not want to act as collection agent any longer.

CyberGhost · 21-11-2003 12:20am

hahahahaha, sorry mate, i just noticed it! LMAO!

i wanted to say "I'm NOT directing this to you feylya" i was typing fast, i left it out by mistake

oh man! hahahaha i wanted to say something but it came out completely oppsite

feylya · 21-11-2003 12:21am

Cool, don't worry about it.

BoB_BoT · 21-11-2003 12:31am

i'm pretty sure you only have to pay for a licence if you're recieving channels i.e. watchin tv. Enquire at an phost or look for a website reguarding tv licences. If you're only using it for playstations/dvds/videos i don't think you have to pay it.

CyberGhost · 21-11-2003 2:01am

k, it's cool we are cool!

it's good you posted it, cause i'd have never noticed it! but damn it made me laugh

CyberGhost · 21-11-2003 3:21am

davros, i think goverment just uses RTE as a cover, as Arnold Schwarzenegger will use his "mofie" career as a cover for the bribes :ninja:

BoB, i hope you are right!

davros · 21-11-2003 9:48am

Originally posted by CyberGhost
davros, i think goverment just uses RTE as a cover, as Arnold Schwarzenegger will use his "mofie" career as a cover for the bribes :ninja:

BoB, i hope you are right!

I agree absolutely - it's another "stealth tax".

I'm afraid the other thing isn't true though. You must have a licence if you have a device capable of receiving a television signal. It does not matter what you use it for. It really is a bizarre and archaic idea that nobody would dream of proposing today if it didn't already exist.

Typedef · 21-11-2003 10:41am

Keep on topic chicken lickens.

Happy Monday.

dudara · 21-11-2003 12:55pm

the rule about TV licences is that if you have anything capable of receiving a television signal in your house, then you must own a license.

If you don't have a TV, but have an aerial on your roof, you must pay, if you have a TV card in your PC you must pay. So it's not the TV that's licensed per se, but the receiving equipment

egan007 · 21-11-2003 2:11pm

i pay for rte through my sky digital subscription - surely i should have to pay less licence fee as i am paying a licence fee + subscription chargs (sky pass a % of the fee to rte)

CyberGhost · 21-11-2003 2:34pm

Egan you have a full package?

egan007 · 21-11-2003 2:36pm

na used to - i dropped movies b/c it's sh1t have the rest though

Goblin_insane · 21-11-2003 2:46pm

I'm pretty sure T.V cards in Computers are exempt due to funny wording of the law.
Also paying for sky is irrelevant due to the fact your paying for a luxury not for the fundamental principle. What sky pay RTE is nothing to do with why you have to pay your lisence. The sky deal is them paying rights to broadcast RTE.

sovtek · 26-11-2003 5:30pm

I have no problem with a TV licence.
In America it's all payed for by commercials, which is why Friends is only about 23 minutes long.
Increasingly RTE (and 3 although they don't get the money) has more and more commercials while all they seem to be paying for is crap American TV sitcoms and reality TV shows.
I thought the severe increase in the TV licence (after they incompetently wasted millions) was on condition of more in house programming.

de5p0i1er · 27-11-2003 12:15am

I don't see the need to pay for a tv licence as I never watch RTE anymore since I got Sky anything good that rte have is on sky already, its just to keep all those do nothing directers on there high salerys the only reason they got there jobs is because they knew some one in power at the time.

Capt'n Midnight · 30-11-2003 9:33pm

Shhhh !!!!!
Look at how much the folks across the pond or up north have to pay..

Yes it would be nice not to pay so much - but if it meand giving up TG4 and an Irish news servic - looks like I'll have to pay..

Have you seen what pases for news in the USA
Have you seen any intelligent TV from the US - excluding HBO which is a subscription channel - if so then remember they have 50 times our population..

Unfortunately - like government - it's a neccessary evil - and like the govt could be a lot better...

TV Licence?

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