TV provider UPC has denied it has shared details of its customers with An Post. It comes after new laws were approved to crackdown on people who do not have a TV licence.

It was claimed An Post will be able to access Sky and UPC subscriptions to work out who has not paid the fee.

But in a statement, UPC says it is "not in a position to give An Post access to our cable subscription data because this would contravene our obligations under data protection".

It is estimated that 15% of the population is evading paying to fund public service broadcasting, at an annual loss of around €25 to €30 million.

The Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte got approval for his proposal this morning.

"Licence fee evasion is an on-going scourge. While in the nature of things it is difficult to be exact, we estimate that it is running at over 15%, which is more than three times the rate in our nearest neighbour" he said earlier.

"The objective of our TV licence system is to fund public service broadcasting. The revenue lost through fee evasion has an immediate impact on the quality of service that can be provided by the national broadcaster. It also creates an inequality between compliant licence holders and evaders" he added.

The Comptroller and Auditor General previously highlighted the fact there was no legal obligation on cable or satellite TV service suppliers to inform An Post of the names and addresses of thier customers.

The Minister had said An Post will have access to the information "solely for its statutory functions in relation to licence fee collection and the commercial confidentially of the information will have to be safeguarded".