Within the past 10 days RTE has registered a new "rm called RTE Licence Collections. A spokesman for the broadcaster con"rmed it has been established to oversee a review of the collection process.

The licence fee is currently collected by An Post, but the company has complained that the process is onerous. A spokeswoman said last week that An Post will continue to collect the licence fee as long as it is "commercially viable". She added that its licence fee operations employ about 80 people. In 2004 An Post said it wished to relinquish collection by this year. The company said it was losing about 500,000 a year on it.

The communications minister is likely to seek tenders from third parties to take on the collection role.