Comic makes a stance after HIS show isn't commissioned

Irish comedian Dave McSavage is refusing to pay his licence fee because he says the comedy put out by state broadcaster RTE is so terrible, he'd rather go to jail than fund more.

The stand-up is due to appear in court later this month over the unpaid €160, where his position will be put to the test.

McSavage has previously been happy to have licence-payers cash to fund his satirical series Savage Eye.

But when RTE refused to commission a special edition of the show to mark the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising against the British, he made his public stance.

His story made the front page of the Irish Sun, whose owner Rupert Murdoch has long campaigned against licence-funded broadcasters that rival his own media interests.

McSavage, whose dad and brother are former government minsters, attacked'awful' shows by The Rubberbandits, Mario Rosenstock, and Irish Pictorial Weekly, which he said was 'derivative' of his own work.

He told the paper: 'I refuse to pay my TV licence because the money will go to RTE and they are not producing comedy. Their output is appalling and they have no respect or passion for the craft of comedy.

'With the Savage Eye I felt we raised the bar for RTE and then it’s been allowed to sink. So as an artist I refuse to fund such mediocre comedy. I will go to prison if I have to.'

Those who do not pay the TV licence can face fines of up to €1,000 for a first offence. Those who don't pay the fine can be jailed, although the vast majority of these people spend less than a day behind bars. 

Published: 6 Apr 2016