The fact that you need a license (cost €158) to own a television set is bad enough, but any proposal to widen the scope of this tax is grotesque. According to this (sketchy) report in today's Irish Independent, the government is planning to extend the television license to PC's and laptops. Why stop there? Surely mobile phones should be similarly taxed. And, I've seen plenty of cars with television sets built into the back of seat etc. Do those cars require a television license?
It's time to just bite the bullet and face up to the fact that the television license is a holdover from a different era. It should be phased out and RTE should be made to stand on its own two feet. In the meantime, RTE should be barred from entering any new media markets where they can use their government-backed dominant position to crush any possible competition.
