There isn’t even a consensus on the precise numbers contributing to its major source of revenue, the licence fee. RTÉ says “around 90%” of Irish households have a television. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says it’s “a device that many people just don’t have any more”. 

Whatever the truth, licence evasion is commonplace with even the most conservative estimate placing the figure in Ireland at 15%, twice the rate of Germany and the UK. This should not be a source of national pride, nor should declarations by “angry citizens” that they intend to withhold payment as a mark of disapproval.

It is easy to understand why sentiments are strong, and the Dublin judge Anthony Halpin added some populist fuel to the flames when he lambasted the “elitism and exclusivity shown and demonstrated by the RTÉ ‘ruling class’”. He lamented that he had to convict those before the court “who are crippled with the cost of living, have to swallow this unpalatable pill of the licence fee when they see that such a source of income is squandered and abused”.

We can expect more anger tomorrow when fallen idol Ryan Tubridy, whose secret payments were the touchpaper for the crisis in Donnybrook, and his agent Noel Kelly, appear at two Oireachtas committees. Nor should we imagine that the backlash over RTÉ’s unpopular arrangement with GAAGO — which embodies the tensions between the organisation’s commercial and public service responsibilities — has run its course.

But to some extent these will constitute noises off; distracting us from a core problem which politicians and citizens have been ducking and diving for years, almost ever since the national broadcaster was established.

It is impossible not to feel a twinge of sympathy for outgoing commercial director, Geraldine O’Leary, when she points to the €1.65bn delivered into RTÉ’s coffers on her watch. That is what salespeople are expected to do even if their tactics can leave a sour taste on some palates. 

There will be critics spitting bile at the concept of creating a special version of the Late Late Show especially to showcase the (no doubt laudable) achievements of a major car franchise. Toy Show: The Musical is almost — but not quite — beyond parody. RTÉ’s Director of Strategy Rory Coveney, who was grilled about this last week, is the latest to fall on his sword.

These attempts at lateral thinking have been driven by the obligation upon Ireland’s broadcaster to swim among the sharks in seeking revenue. 

If they are an affront to the nation, then it must provide proper funding and RTÉ must concentrate on those services which are not only valued, but important to our collective spirit and identity: Credible and fair journalism; balance; exemplar TV, radio, video and podcasting; cultural support and encouragement; stars who receive justifiable compensation and who concentrate on their work.

Now is the moment to revisit and reconstitute the spirit and obligations of RTÉ. If new forms of funding are required, it is not beyond our wit to provide them. 

As many people are proud to proclaim that they don’t possess a TV receiver, and collection appears to be so burdensome, then a levy on broadband or mobile telecoms might present a modern solution for the streaming platform generation.

When Judge Halpin quoted Hamlet in his excoriating criticism he made reference to something “being rotten in the state of Denmark”. Shakespearean scholars will remember that it wasn’t a happy ending for the Danes whose regime fell under the control of neighbouring Fortinbras. 

Hamlet’s last words were: “The rest is silence.” For RTÉ we need to have the last full measure of accounting as to what happened, and how matters must change in the future. For the people of Ireland, there must be a recognition that getting a national broadcaster on the cheap has had consequences. 

Fully funding a properly audited service without subsidies from commercial interests must be next on the programme.