Beverly Flynn and the ultimate TV Licence fee

Perhaps I'm missing something - or are we seeing another typical 'whitewash' of the facts by the 'Irish System'

Beverley Flynn has announced tonight that she will not be contesting the next General Election. The decision by the Fianna Fáil TD has caused widespread surprise in Co Mayo. She is understood to be stepping down for family reasons.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said he wanted to thank Beverley Flynn for her commitment to politics and for her efforts on behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party. He added that Ms Flynn is a very able politician and she has represented the people of Mayo with undoubted tenacity and skill in her time in Dáil Éireann. Mr Cowen said that Beverley Flynn had been assiduous in her attention to the needs of her constituents and that her many supporters will be sorry to see her leave representative politics, while respecting her decision.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Dara Calleary, has paid tribute to his constituency colleague.Dara Calleary said: 'Beverley has worked hard on behalf of the people of Mayo since she was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1997

Tuesday June 19 2007

INDEPENDENT TD Beverley Flynn was yesterday accused of "embarking on a litigious frolic" which is "nakedly in her own interest".

The claim came as it emerged that the Mayo TD, one of four Independents supporting Bertie Ahern's new Government, had offered a €590,000 settlement to RTE - a fraction of the €2.8m she owes the broadcaster after her failed libel action.

Ms Flynn yesterday launched her constitutional challenge to the law which stops a court-declared bankrupt from being a member of the Dail.

There has been speculation recently Ms Flynn could be named as a junior minister during the lifetime of the 30th Dail, but the Taoiseach said at the weekend that she has "issues" to resolve.

RTE's lawyer yesterday told the court that Ms Flynn has not paid a "red cent" of the €2.8m legal costs she owes the national broadcaster. Cian Ferriter BL said not a cent had come forward to satisfy the debt to RTE, the costs which arise from Ms Flynn's failed libel action against the station and its chief news correspondent Charlie Bird in 2001. The total due to RTE, counsel said, amounted to €2.825m plus interest accruing at €500 per day.

An offer of €590,000, was made after the service of a bankruptcy petition by RTE, Mr Ferriter said. That amount, he said, was 20pc of the debt owed and RTE was not prepared to accept that. Counsel said RTE felt that Beverley Flynn was not doing all she can to discharge the debt.

Last week, he said her solicitors had written to the RTE solicitors and suggested that the bankruptcy proceedings be adjourned "in the national interest" pending the constitutional challenge. 'She has not paid a red cent of the costs order. RTE has had to take this action to have the debt discharged'

Figures released to Fine Gael TD Jim O’Keeffe in a parliamentary question show:

*54 people went to jail in 2008 for not paying their TV licence.

*This compared to 32 people in 2007, a rise of almost 70%.

*220 people have been imprisoned for the offence over the past five years.

"This is crazy, from every point of view, from the individual’s point of view and the Exchequer’s," said Mr O’Keeffe.

"It’s wrong, from my point of view, to put people in prison because they are poor.

"It’s crazy for the exchequer. The TV licence is e160. It costs e2,000 a week to put them in jail."

Supplying Mr O’Keeffe with the information, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said: "I can advise the deputy that the number of such persons held in custody are held for very short periods of time and comprise a tiny fraction of the overall prisoner population.

"To illustrate this point, figures relating to 16 February 2009 indicate that there was only one person in custody for non-payment of fines in relation to not having a television licence."