Newstalk has lodged a formal complaint with the EU Commission, claiming that TV licence payments by the Irish State to RTÉ are not compatible with EU rules on State Aid, and are therefore illegal.

Newstalk alleges that RTÉ consistently uses TV licence fee income in a manner contrary to the terms approved by the European Commission under EU State Aid rules. It is alleged that the aid RTÉ receives in the form of TV licence fees is in breach of the State Aid rules because RTÉ is failing to operate in an efficient manner so as to maximise revenues.

The complaint also outlines RTÉ's refusal to broadcast television advertisements from Newstalk, and states that RTÉ is aggressively undercutting prices for radio advertisements by selling them on a below-cost basis.

Commenting on the complaint, Newstalk CEO Gerard Whelan said: "It is both discriminatory and anti-competitive that RTÉ, which is funded by a national licence fee, can refuse advertising based on self-drafted guidelines."

"Commercial stations in Ireland do not receive any funding from the state and therefore RTÉ should not be allowed to abuse its position by refusing to accept revenue from Newstalk and other stations. The national oversight mechanisms are not sufficient to ensure RTÉ's respects market principals and their predatory pricing cannot be justified. Newstalk intends to fight this abuse of a dominant position and will ensure that the European Commission is aware of RTÉ's activities" he added.