Anti-RTE stance costs him €125

Irish comedian David McSavage has been convicted and fined €125 for not paying his TV licence fee.

The comic had publicly stated he wasn't paying the €160-a-year levy because the comedy put out by state broadcaster RTE was so terrible, he'd rather go to jail than fund more.

He took his stance after RTE declined to fund further episodes of his satirical show, Savage Eye – and made the front page of The Sun in Ireland for saying so.

However, it later transpired that he had actually bought a licence for his Dublin home more than a week before that article appeared.

Nonetheless, he still owed €115 in arrears – which prompted the case at Dublin District Court today. But the 50-year-old did not show up for the proceedings, the Irish Independent reports.

He was convicted in his absence and ordered to pay a €125 fine plus €50 costs.

At a previous hearing, McSavage was told his protest over the way the licence fee was spent was no justification for withholding it.

Published: 16 Jun 2016