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Holiday Home Tv’s
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We in this country have a licence fee for TV’s. Like it or not it is there. According to the Irish Examiner
An Oireachtas committee has told RTÉ it should stop imposing double licence fees on people who own holiday homes.
Is it just me or is the horrendous. Most people in this country do not earn as much as TD’s or indeed many other people who have enough money to buy holiday homes. Most people in this country are lucky to have 1 home not to talk about holiday homes. The report also says
Politicians quickly complained, arguing that holiday homes were used only for a few weeks each year.
It is clear from this that they are receiving these complaints from certain constituents and are voicing these concerns. I doubt the average joe or jane Bloggs. Is worried about Holiday home TV licence fee’s. Indeed with the distruction of many of Ireland’s vista’s by the blight of holiday homes. I am pretty sure more people are concerned with the visual impact of these eyesores. Where once were glorious views that maked Ireland the emerald Isle (insert other ooirish saying here). We now have armies of white out of place condos’.
Fine Gael senator, Michael Finucane said it was “very unfair” that holiday home owners be asked to pay for a second licence.
This coming from the guy who gave out about Michael McDowell’s holiday home.
The issue of one-off houses has been brought sharply into focus by the case of the holiday home of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell. While the debate on that case is ongoing, I am aware of a young couple who, having paid €40,000 some years ago for a site, have been turned down for permission to build a house because it is classified as ribbon development near an urban community. They have lost the €40,000 and the planning permission.
Oh but now Holiday home owners are being treated unfairly. 
I am with RTE on this one.
the view we had was that people who can afford to have holiday homes generally can afford the [licence fee of] €158.
to be honest very few people would buy a piece of land without making the purchase condition on planning permission being successful. Odd thing in Ireland is you don’t need to be the owner to apply for planning permission. The odd thing about a TV license is that it is the telly that gets the license not you the person.
I think your TV license should be like a smart card that you carry about. In fact when we go digital it wouldn’t be that hard to make the set top box dependent on a smart card being inserted and give them out free to those who currently get free licenses. After all that is what a Sky box does. That way if you only use the holiday home tv when you are away then you pay just the one license and get just the one card but if you’re really using both at the same time then you can’t.
I just find the very notion of the tv licence ridiculous. Remember, you don’t need one for a black and white television. So maybe they should change the law so that if we watch the tv in black and white, then we won’t need a licence.
The licence fee was introduced a tax on what once was a luxury good (colour televisions) and I don’t have any real problem with the government getting a share of the spoils when we spend our cash on disposable income. But a colour television is not a luxury good. Getting bog channels (usually with a terrible reception) is not living the high life.
Now maybe if they made people with HDTVs or digital satellite pay a licence, then it would make sense. I’d much rather see direct charges being imposed on those who have holiday homes, rather than charge them twice for a licence.