Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said there was a “culture of arrogance” among RTÉ executives and “poor governance” around decision-making.
He was responding to a question from Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou MacDonald, who said public trust in RTÉ had been “collapsed” following a series of revelations about the broadcaster’s governance and finances, and that the public “I feel like I’m being made a fool of,” he said.
A vote will be taken on Sinn Féin’s Dáil motion calling for legal amnesty for people who have not paid their TV license fees and for the abolishment of the TV license fee system following controversy that came to light last year.
Instead, Sinn Féin is proposing a direct funding model from the Treasury.
Speaking during a question session with party leaders, Mr MacDonald asked whether he intended to pursue people who don’t pay their TV license fees in court.
“Nobody at the top of RTÉ has been held accountable,” she said, arguing it was unfair to pursue members of the public who did not pay their €160 membership fee.
Mr McDonald also accused ministers of being divided over a new funding model for the state public broadcaster.
He said Mr Varadkar had previously said the current model was “outdated” and “a different time”, and used that to urge the Taoiseach to “retire it”.
“The government must end this merry-go-round of confusion, delays and contradictions now,” she said.
“Abolish television licenses and replace them with Treasury funding to ensure a better future for public service media.”
In response, Mr Varadkar asked whether Sinn Féin’s policy included offering rebates to people who paid their TV license fees.
“I believe most people should obey the law, and I believe many people should pay taxes and pay fees,” he said.
“And I think it would be an insult and an affront to the vast majority of law-abiding, decent citizens who paid their TV license fees to grant amnesty to those who didn’t. (It’s) very unfair. I think.”
He also expressed concerns about conflicts of interest if a direct state funding model were introduced.
“We know that there is a person in this House who could be the next head of government and is currently suing RTÉ.
“In my view, it would be a huge conflict of interest to have people suing RTÉ decide how much they would receive.
“That’s not the kind of democracy we want.
“That kind of thing is starting to happen in the United States and other places, and we definitely don’t want that to happen in our state.”
Ms MacDonald filed suit against RTÉ in the High Court in 2022 for alleged defamation.