Hot els and businesses to be hit with higher TV licence fees

HOTELS, government departments and large businesses are to be hit with a higher television licence fee under new plans, the Irish Independent can reveal.

Communications Minister Denis Naughten hopes to introduce a new grading system for the licence fee based on the number of rooms in a premises.

The idea is to have hotels and large offices pay more than the current annual charge of €160.

He is to set up an expert group which will also examine having the fee collected by the Revenue Commissioners rather than An Post.

It marks the latest attempt to find a palatable way of increasing the income from the fee, which is largely used to fund RTÉ.

Ministers discussed a number of proposals yesterday, with Mr Naughten proposing the establishment of a working group on the future funding of public service broadcasting.

It will review the recent findings of a cross-party Oireachtas committee but the minister has singled out the charges applied to large businesses for particular attention.

Sources familiar with the Cabinet discussions said the emphasis on businesses would not affect B&Bs, shops or small enterprises.

The source noted that the Leinster House complex where TDs work has up to 1,000 television sets, but the Oireachtas pays the same as the average householder.

The working group will also investigate whether Revenue Commissioners should be tasked with collecting the fee rather than An Post.