The TV licence fee should be scrapped and replaced with a tax on big tech companies, according to People Before Profit.

It comes as new figures show that the number of people paying their TV licence fee has fallen nearly 40%.

The latest Department of Media figures show that 9,361 licences were purchased in the first seven days of this month – down from 15,030 the same week last year.

It represents a loss of €907,200 in just one week.

That follows a fall in revenue of over €2.7 million in July versus the same month the previous year.

In all, TV licence income is down nearly €3.7 million since the RTÉ pay scandal broke in late June.

The situation has led to concerns RTÉ will need a large bailout in the budget to ensure it can maintain its services.

RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst / Image: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews

This afternoon, People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy told Newstalk the fee should be done away with:

“We think it is beyond time to scrap the licence fee,” he said.

“The licence fee is a regressive tax. It’s a tax that’s the same level on every household, who was eligible to pay, regardless of income. In many ways, it’s a similar level to what the water charges were set at.

“So, we think the licence fee should go, and then we need to properly fund Public Service Broadcasting including RTÉ through a tax on the big tech companies.”

He said big tech and social media companies, "dominate much of what should be public space online".

“We have a proposal for a big tech tax, which would effectively ensure we have proper funding for RTÉ and other public service broadcasting across the country,” he said.

Ryan Tubridy with his agent Noel Kelly leaving Leinster House, Dublin, 11-07-2023. Image: PA Images / Alamy

He also called for a pay cap to be introduced at the broadcaster.

“We don’t think anybody in RTÉ, be they on the board, at senior management level or top presenters, should be on more than €100,000,” he told Red FM News.

“€100,000 is a very handsome salary that people can live very well on and we think that is vital in terms of ensuring a public service ethos within RTÉ.”

RTÉ published an anonymised list of its top 100 earners after the pay scandal broke – revealing that 13 of its top 20 earners are managers or executives, earning between €275,000 and €201,661.

Executives and managers make up over two-thirds of the top 100 - with 10 executives and 59 managers on the list.

Some 31 workers are categorised as presenters or non-management.