And the RTÉ funding drama is no different, with what is expected to be its own eye-catching ending set to air in the coming days.At the last Cabinet meeting this coming Wednesday before the summer break, ministers will arrive at Government Buildings with a number of issues on the agenda.Chief among them will be a plan for how to fund RTÉ into the future, an issue the Government has repeatedly said it wants resolved by the summer break - a timeline which coincidentally also means the controversial issue will be off the political agenda before any potential general election dates.After independent expert advice, Oireachtas committee hearings, the small matter of a high-profile financial crisis at the broadcaster, and equally notable coalition division on how to resolve the issue, it appears Government has now found a way forward.But whether it is deemed acceptable by the public, and credible by RTÉ, will ultimately decide on whether the plan results in the curtain being brought down on the long-running funding drama, or whether a new season will be quickly commissioned in the near future. --What's the plan:In the best traditions of politics, the plan itself appears to be a good old-fashioned compromise.Until recently, two funding models for the future of RTÉ - and public service broadcasting in general - were competing for space on the national airwaves.The first was for the existing system in effect to remain the same, with a push to ensure greater compliance in households paying the €160-a-year TV licence fee.The second was to scrap the TV licence fee entirely, and replace it with funding which would come solely from the Exchequer.However, while both options had supporters, both also had clear problems.The reality of the existing TV licence fee is that, while it has operated effectively in the past, a growing number of households are no longer paying it, with payments dropping by €22 million between June 2023 and March this year as a result of 137,057 fewer people paying the fee.As such, unless Government imposed a more stringent way of ensuring payment such as direct taxation - a move that would be far from a vote-winner among the public - a fall in licence fee funding would lead to questions over the financial security of the public service broadcaster.Minister for Media Catherine Martin is understood to have pushed for a multi-annual funding plan And similarly, while the idea of funding RTÉ entirely through State or Exchequer resources had also been championed by Minister for Media Catherine Martin and others, coalition colleagues including Tánaiste Micheál Martin had warned this plan could undermine the independence of the organisation.As such, what Government sources have described as a "hybrid" model has now been drawn up, and is likely to be signed off on by Cabinet next week. The hybrid plan is expected to retain the TV licence fee, which is likely to still be collected by An Post rather than by the Revenue Commissioners, and despite lengthy internal Government discussion is likely to remain at €160 a year.But, crucially, the plan will also include what is being termed as a "multi-annual Exchequer funding model", providing a new stream of money for RTÉ which will also exist outside of the usual autumn budget drawn up by any Government.The multi-annual nature of the new funding stream, sources say, has been welcomed by both sides of the coalition divide.Ms Martin is understood to have pushed for it as she believes a multi-annual funding plan is the only way to ensure the future stability of RTÉ due to the drop off in TV licence fee payments.Similarly, the Tánaiste and others who have previously warned that Exchequer-only funding would pose a risk - whether real or imaginary - to RTÉ's editorial independence as the broadcaster could be beholden to a current or future government holding its purse strings are also likely to support the move.This is because a multi-annual fund would exist outside of the usual Government budget plans, while the retention of the TV licence fee would ensure that RTÉ is not entirely dependent on State funding, now or into the future.Missing details:Given the fact information about the plan is for now based on limited leaks, and that a leak rarely accounts for an entire flood, it is inevitable that questions remain.And, rather aptly given the issue at hand, many of those questions come down to one straightforward point: money.Firstly, while a multi-annual Exchequer funding model is central to the plan, for now no exact figure has been suggested for how much this will cost the taxpayer.Several Government sources declined to comment about the potential price tag when contacted by RTÉ News on Thursday and Friday, as did officials for RTÉ itself.However, it has been noted that at the most recent Oireachtas committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media on 3 July, RTÉ's Director General Kevin Bakhurst - who is known to choose his words carefully - did outline a ball park figure.Asked about funding deficits at RTÉ, Mr Bakhurst referenced the Future of Media Commission, saying: "The amount it recommended, adjusted for inflation, gives a starting figure of €255m. Then we said we would ideally need approximately 2% a year so that we do not get stuck in an unsustainable situation again in a few years' time."Secondly, there is the question of how many years any "multi-annual Exchequer funding" period should last.Government sources again would not clarify this to RTÉ News this week, but a timeline of anywhere between two and five years has been suggested by some as a way to ensure stable funding without needlessly planning too far into the future.A third issue has also been flagged by some on both the Government and opposition benches, who have said that given recent financial controversies at RTÉ they would like to see some guarantees attached to how any Exchequer funding is spent.Capital funding for buildings and technology, funding specifically earmarked for clearly set out transparent voluntary exit schemes and funding for genuinely public service broadcasting programmes that inform as much as entertain have been suggested, although for now it is unclear if any such stipulations will be included.And while the focus may be on the big figure of the multi-annual funding plan, questions also remain over the TV licence fee itself.In recent months there has been significant debate over whether the annual fee would remain at €160 per household, and if it would be collected in a more direct way by the Revenue Commissioners.The Government plan is likely to see the fee remain the same and continue to be collected by An Post, but given the drop-off in payments, questions remain over how effective that may be into the future.Ratings hit or flop:Although Government and RTÉ spokespeople declined to respond to the leaked plan information when contacted on Thursday and Friday, it is understood that there appears for now to be little pushback to the funding move within both ranks.That is not to say there has been no criticism though, with opposition parties not in favour of all aspects of the leaks.In a statement on Thursday evening, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould said he was disappointed by the leaked plan details, saying the Government should "scrap" the TV licence fee entirely."We now have a situation whereby a levy on households that has been described by those in Government as regressive and outdated will be retained. That is a shocking indictment of this Government's failure to act," he said, adding: "The Government had an opportunity to support modern, future-proofed public sector broadcasting and instead, they fumbled the ball at the final hurdle."This is truly an own goal."While some in Government privately dismissed the criticism as a voter-friendly remark in the lead-up to a general election, supporters of Deputy Gould's position note there is validity to them too, with an independent report and an Oireachtas committee report both calling for the end of the TV licence in recent years.In 2022, the Future of Media Commission published a detailed report which included 50 recommendations on the future funding of the media landscape in Ireland.One recommendation - to replace the existing TV licence fee with a new public funding model based on general taxation - was rejected by Government.Similarly, an Oireachtas media committee report published at the start of this month also recommended abolishing the TV licence fee, but - in keeping with the politically divisive nature of the funding issue - the recommendation was not unanimous.At the committee report's launch, Sinn Féin TD Imelda Munster, who supports the removal of the TV licence fee, said two Fianna Fáil committee members also backed the recommendation while two opposed it.Criticising any potential plan that would not take account of Minister Martin's initial view that the TV licence fee should be replaced by an Exchequer only funding model, Deputy Munster said at the time: "What’s the point of a minister for media if her view and opinion is being blocked by colleagues."While Government is likely hit the airwaves this coming week by saying that the RTÉ - and wider public service broadcasting - funding plan is a sensible compromise designed to bring stability to a crucial sector, renewed opposition criticism is likely to also be heard.Speaking at the European Political Community event in Oxfordshire in England, on Thursday, Taoiseach Simon Harris said the RTÉ funding saga "has gone on for far too long", and that "it's important that we bring finality to the question of how we fund public service broadcasting".How his Government's "finality" to the long-running issue is seen by the public - and voters - will likely decide whether the RTÉ funding plan cliffhanger finale will be a ratings hit or flop for viewers over the period to come.
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