Will Highland get a slice of new Gadget License?
EVERY house in Co Donegal will have to have a ‘TV license’ from next year – even if you don’t have a telly.
The new ‘gadgets’ license will cover laptops, iPods and other gadgets including televisions.
It’s still not clear if RTE will get all the cash raised in the new ‘household tax’.
TV3 has lobbied the Government for a slice of the money.
And local radio stations – including Ocean FM and Highland Radio – have also asked the Government for cash from the license to subsidise their businesses.
However any move to give taxpayers money to local media groups is almost certain to end in a legal wrangle.
Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte is said to be studying submissions from a wide range of media organisations.
He said: “Publically funded, public service broadcasting and content are now available to everyone on an ever-increasing number of platforms and devices, and in fact access is not dependent on the ownership of a device.
“Everybody benefits from the availability of these services, regardless of how content is accessed or relayed to the public, and therefore it is my view that the cost should be borne by society as a whole.”