Why do we put up with paying 160 euro's for a TV license.

Daragh101 · 21-09-2009 08:19PM

ehh dont pay:D

Biggins · 21-09-2009 09:09PM

mikemac wrote: »

Don't know was it mentioned but it pays for RTE Symphony Orchestra.
They run a lot of free concerts

And it funds the RTE Concert Orchestra.
I know these are two seperate groups but I've no idea what the difference is.

Two orchestras for 160 euro, sure what more do you want?

Tickets?

uncle_sam_ie · 21-09-2009 09:51PM

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

:rolleyes:

this has been done to death before
- you need a license if you have a TV tuner card in a pc or a video recorder
- US public service TV is dire
- the UK charge more than we do for a license

The purpose of me starting this thread has nothing to do with the points you outlined.
-I didn't need to know if a TV license was needed for a PC or video recorder.
-So what about the public service in the US.
- I don't care if the UK are charging more.

I don't pay tax in either country, so it doesn't concern me..

I just wanted to know why people here seem so resigned into paying €160 for completely unnecessary tax that goes to paying for grossly overpaid wages to a few media fat cats. Where is the outrage?

Mmcd · 21-09-2009 10:24PM

If you had a PC monitor and a skybox would you have to pay a license as you dont have anything capable of getting analogue signals?

Guy:Incognito · 21-09-2009 10:38PM

Biggins wrote: »

...because we are too complacent sheep.
End of thread!

Are all the other countries that have tv licences complacent sheep too? or just us?

greendom wrote: »

Yes thank God for the UK and its higher than our tv licence. At least there's some decent stuff to watch on tv.

maybe if we pay the same in actuall monetary value that the BBc recieves we can have equally good stations.

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

I have no interest in going to an Orchestra, but I know music and the arts are important for Ireland so, I'd have no problem paying taxes for that. But, paying taxes so we can see imported shows from the US and Briton is a total waste of our money. They serve absolutely no cultural value. There are a lot of families out there, mine included, that are finding it hard to make ends meet in this recession only to be forced into paying for an intertainment network. I've canceled Sky to make ends meet. I can't cancel RTE. And, doesn't anyone find it unbelievable that tax payers are giving Gerry Ryan €600k a year? It's just wrong.

If your finding it hard to make ends meet, surley havign a tv to watch is way down your list of priorities, get rid so.

You could always move back to the US to avoid having to pay the €160 a year.

uncle_sam_ie · 21-09-2009 11:39PM

Stekelly wrote: »

If your finding it hard to make ends meet, surley havign a tv to watch is way down your list of priorities, get rid so.

You could always move back to the US to avoid having to pay the €160 a year.

There is no need to be smart Stekelly. All I'm doing is questioning an unnecessary and wasteful tax that we're all being forced to pay. As a tax paying citizen I have every right to question it.

FearDark · 21-09-2009 11:42PM

Two words why I dont pay my licence.

Byrne Ultimatum.

Guy:Incognito · 21-09-2009 11:49PM

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

There is no need to be smart Stekelly. All I'm doing is questioning an unnecessary and wasteful tax that we're all being forced to pay. As a tax paying citizen I have every right to question it.

How am I beign smart? If your finding it hard to cope financially, then a tv shoudlnt really be high on the priority list to keep.

There are probably plenty of other actual essential things that are more expensive here than the US you could complain about.

ninebeanrows · 22-09-2009 12:18AM

If it hasn't been said before.

It is because we are Irish.

An accepting bunch, its in our blood due to years and years of persecution and oppression.

Sure we are currently being ruled by a virtual dictatorship due to our 'ah shurre what can we do' attitude.

Biggins · 22-09-2009 12:24AM

Stekelly wrote: »

Are all the other countries that have tv licences complacent sheep too? or just us?

My point being for those few not able to discern it, was that we might find something - ANY THING - to gripe about, but we then do frig all to evoke subsequent or bring about change to something we object to!
What I and others have come to in a conclusion is that be it a license issue, TD expenses issue, ignoring vote issue or whatever - that all the sheep of this country will come to, just gripping and snipping and nothing else.

...clearly you don't get that point by example, by you trying to make MY point being just about a TV licence. :rolleyes:

Dear gawd, let intelligence reign down upon us and give us all the ability to ascertain what a post is actually trying to accede to its reader.

uncle_sam_ie · 22-09-2009 12:32AM

Stekelly wrote: »

How am I beign smart? If your finding it hard to cope financially, then a tv shoudlnt really be high on the priority list to keep.

There are probably plenty of other actual essential things that are more expensive here than the US you could complain about.

No, the TV is not "high" on the priority list, but why should I pay an RTE tax to watch a DVD, play a game , watch a youtube video or go online. I don't need RTE nor do I want it.
And again, I have every right to complain were my taxes go. Bringing this ,go back to the US if you don't like it, tone into the conversation is just BS.

DirkVoodoo · 22-09-2009 12:37AM

Seeing "Baz's culture clash" advertised on RTE was all the reason I needed to give a thumbs up to this.

johnnypark · 22-09-2009 12:40AM

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

:rolleyes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licence
two-thirds of the countries in Europe and half of the countries in Asia and Africa use television licences to fund public television.

this has been done to death before
- you need a license if you have a TV tuner card in a pc or a video recorder
- US public service TV is dire
- the UK charge more than we do for a license

I agree with Capn' America. If the government allows RTE to get revenue from advertising, fair enough, just don't pile the tv license on top of that. That's just greedy.

Richie..Galway · 22-09-2009 12:48AM

I agree with capn america too which is the reason i have never had a TV licence i'm 32 years old now and moved out of the familly home at 18. so thats 14 years of never having a licence. i pay 1500 a year on road tax though so i'm more than covered lol and thats for absolutley s.hite roads in galway county.

DirkVoodoo · 22-09-2009 12:57AM

Richie..Galway wrote: »

i pay 1500 a year on road tax though so i'm more than covered lol

Slightly OT, but you pay motor tax, not road tax.

Purple Gorilla · 22-09-2009 12:57AM

FearDark wrote: »

Two words why I dont pay my licence.

Byrne Ultimatum.

Watched that for the first time tonight.

It was about as funny as a vietnamese child covered in honey being eaten by a bear.
It annoyed me how the guests just laughed at things that were blatantly unfunny.

Agent J · 22-09-2009 01:03AM

I wouldnt mind as much except for the really stupidly high salaries paid to RTE "Talent"

Gerry Ryan is worth 650k????

And complains when he has to pay for his own coffee?

Pay him 50-100k and if he doesnt like it tell him to take his "talent" to the UK or any other market.

Richie..Galway · 22-09-2009 01:06AM

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Slightly OT, but you pay motor tax, not road tax.

ok my bad, either way i'm nailed lol, wouldn't mind but my car is driven only a few miles a week these days it's unfair imo if it was tax on fuel then i would be taxed by how much i drive the car which is mostly at weekends, sorry for going off topic sligtly..... just don't pay tv licence. if nobody p[aid it what could they do ? put us all in jail? there isn't room as it is and if they fine the whole country then just ignore that also just like the tv licence

layke · 22-09-2009 03:12AM

I live in Australia.

-They have no TV license here
-All stations are privatised
-Government still advertise services and polictial campaigns through these stations (quite cheaply might I add).

You only pay for Foxtel (Sky box) for a digital signal.

It works well, and proves in my mind without a shadow of a doubt that TV licenses are in fact a load of big hairy b*****x.

People have in this thread have pointed out the law, but as 'Cap'n America' has pointed out why should he pay for a service he doesn't use nor have any interest in? With that I have to agree because I have always been of the same mindset. The TV license imo is nothing more then a revenue stream that doesn't need to be there.

RTE should be privatised and then would be forced to produce some quality and get rid of the dead wood which would negate the reason for a license of any sort. I mean would anyone be crying if they didn't get their daily fix of The Angelus? I think not.

Besides people have moved towards digital subscriptions, internet downloads and a million other methods of entertainment other then some backward TV station that holds no interest apart from sports and old people TV shows (With that they got rid of Moto GP to promote more Irish sports, which imo was totally short sighted).

positron · 22-09-2009 08:24AM

I too am sick and tired of paying the TV license. I have heard of something called 'radio license' was in practice in India in 1970s, but nothing since.

I don't watch RTE either. I only watch about an hour telly a day, and that's usually some well made BBC documentary that is free-to-air.

Now, Can we do something about this legally? I don't want to break the law, but is there a way to challenge this / sue the government on a public interest petition of "unnecessary and avoidable financial burden in the name of a non-essential service that does not offer value for money" or something like that?

inforfun · 22-09-2009 10:47AM

Tv- license is all nice and well but it should be done like in Holland.
Your fee there is included in the price of your tv-provider.
So if you want a tv just for watching dvd's, playing games and dont take sky/upc etc you dont pay the tv-license.

bakedbean · 22-09-2009 10:57AM

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

this has been done to death before
- you need a license if you have a TV tuner card in a pc or a video recorder
- US public service TV is dire
- the UK charge more than we do for a license

I think you'll find the UK licence is actually cheaper than the Irish licence. Plus several of the channels it contributes towards, BBC 1-4, are of a high quality and ad-free so it's not possible to make a direct comparison

What confuses me is how RTE gets money from ads, sponsorship AND TV licences and still manages to produce such BS. If the licence fee was used to directly support independent Irish production companies, not through the RTE filter, we would have much more varied and higher quality programmes.

positron · 22-09-2009 11:02AM

Can I avoid this stupid pre wordwar tax by disabling the tuner component of my telly? I can then use the sky box to watch fta channels without paying license right?

Ed_ · 22-09-2009 11:35AM

layke wrote: »

-They have no TV license here
-All stations are privatised
-Government still advertise services and polictial campaigns through these stations (quite cheaply might I add).

Australian television is absolute bollocks though. It is hardly a good example to use

Ed_ · 22-09-2009 11:35AM

positron wrote: »

Can I avoid this stupid pre wordwar tax by disabling the tuner component of my telly? I can then use the sky box to watch fta channels without paying license right?

Your Sky box has a tuner also.

bakedbean wrote: »

I think you'll find the UK licence is actually cheaper than the Irish licence. Plus several of the channels it contributes towards, BBC 1-4, are of a high quality and ad-free so it's not possible to make a direct comparison

What confuses me is how RTE gets money from ads, sponsorship AND TV licences and still manages to produce such BS. If the licence fee was used to directly support independent Irish production companies, not through the RTE filter, we would have much more varied and higher quality programmes.

Do you have no idea about simple mathematics? Amount of UK television licence payers greatly outnumbers Irish television licence payers. Do the maths.

RTÉ produces such BS? You can honestly say that you watch nothing transmitted by RTÉ. I bet you do. And what you watch I can guarantee others think it is bull****.

Irishcrx · 22-09-2009 11:57AM

Never payed it. Never will.

Richie..Galway · 22-09-2009 12:08PM

i'm glad i don't pay it. especially after the athletics word championships which were on last month thanks to the BBC i was able to watch Cork's Derval O'Rourke set a new Irish record when she came 4th in the 100m hurdle final, It's a disgrace that a cork girl sets a new irish record and comes 4th in the entire world and RTE don't have it on tv, i would also like to thank the BBC for allowing me to witess Usain Bolt once again break the 100m world record, Thanks BBC screw you RTE

Ed_ · 22-09-2009 12:10PM

If you do not pay for the television licence then what right have you to criticise RTÉ?

Spud83 · 22-09-2009 12:23PM

layke wrote: »

I live in Australia.

-They have no TV license here
-All stations are privatised
-Government still advertise services and polictial campaigns through these stations (quite cheaply might I add).

ABC is financed by the Australia Government.

80% of the funding for SBS also comes from the Australian government.

Just because its there is no license fee does not mean there are no taxes going to it. At least in Ireland if you choose not to have a TV you don't contribute to RTE, in Australia your are contributing through your income taxes, and any other tax you pay.

Agricola · 22-09-2009 12:31PM

If it means RTE doesnt turn into TV3, ill glady pay the license fee. Anyone who watches Vincent Brownes show on TV3 will know what a joke a station solely financed by ad revenue can be. I feel sorry for him. Hes constantly cutting off debate in order to take ANOTHER ad break. Recently when he took the first ad break too late, he had to squeeze two ad breaks into a 20 minute segment - Ridiculous.

Why do we put up with paying 160 euro's for a TV license.

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