New figures from the Department of Communications show 768,657 licences were sold last year. This generated almost €123m but is well short of the revenue generated in previous years.
The number of payments is down by almost 19pc on 2022 figures. More than €151m was generated through TV licence sales in 2022 and this fell to €122.9m last year.
More than one million people had been paying the charge annually as recently as 2019, while 947,924 paid it in 2022. Last year 179,267 fewer households paid the €160 annual licence required by law than they did in 2022.
Licence sales started to slump in 2023 amid significant public anger following the emergence of secret payments made to former Late Late Show presenter Ryan Tubridy.
Ryan Tubridy was caught up in payments scandal. Photo: Getty
In a statement, RTÉ said TV sales had been steadily declining prior to the 2023 drop-off.
The significant rise in evasion sparked concerns about a financial shortfall for RTÉ and the broadcaster has been pushing for reforms of the licence fee system and its funding model.
Last July, the Government decided to retain the licence fee system but said it would be underpinned by measures to improve compliance and collection of the charge.
A working group at the Department of Communications has been looking at measures to reform and enhance the licence system. It is expected to send a report to Communications Minister Patrick O’Donovan in the coming weeks to consider the findings.
RTÉ is currently being funded through a mixture of existing licence revenue and a multi-annual state payment.
It received €225m last year, including TV licence revenue. This is to rise to €240m this year and €260m next year.
This weekend RTÉ said it is grateful to those who continue to pay their TV licence and, alongside the additional government funding, this revenue helps the broadcaster to “plan ahead and continue to transform RTÉ in line with our five-year strategy”.
That strategy, published by RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst in 2024, set out commitments to reduce staff and overheads, and improve how the organisation is managed.
“While challenges remain, RTÉ is delivering more to audiences, we are listening to what they have to say and making better decisions,” an RTÉ spokesman said.
“We are also listening to our staff and improving our culture to make RTÉ a better place to work, while implementing important governance reforms, managing our costs and ensuring strong financial discipline.”