Vol. 438 No. 4
50 Miss Harney asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the number of workers directly employed in the Irish newspaper industry for each of the past three years for which figures are available; the concerns, if any, he has that this industry is now subject to unfair competition from imports of newspapers from a lower cost base economy; and if so, the implications for the retention of jobs within this industry.
The Central Statistics Office does not publish separate figures for employment in the newspaper segment of the printing and publishing industry. However, information compiled by the IDA shows the following employment figures for the last three years: 1990, 3,469; 1991, 3,315; 1992, 3,289.
The newspaper sector, like all other sectors of industry, operates within the internal market of the European Union and must, therefore, compete on this basis. The printing sector overall has seen rapid advances in new technology in recent years. In order to remain competitive the Irish newspaper industry must keep abreast of and introduce these new technologies. This will place the industry in a better position to operate in the competitive environment and meet the challenges ahead.
