asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the plans, if any, he has to deal with the crisis at Irish Press Newspapers, including his delayed decision on the interim report of the Competition Authority.
Private Notice Questions. - Irish Press Newspapers.
asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the steps, if any, he took to bring the union and management sides together in the Irish Press Newspapers dispute; the reasons he has not issued the full report of the Competition Authority on newspapers and when he will give his verdict on the recommendations of the Competition Authority regarding the Independent Newspapers investment in Irish Press Newspapers.
asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment if he will personally intervene in the quest to save Irish Press Newspapers' titles and the associated 600 jobs given that detailed and constructive proposals now exist to create an Irish Press trust which would see the support from the Irish Credit Union movement, the trade union movement and workers in a three way co-operative venture.
I propose to take the three questions together.
Let me clarify that the edited version of the Competition Authority's interim report was published on 27 April 1995. The authority's full report contained information which was commercially sensitive and passages which were potentially defamatory and Deputies will appreciate why such passages were exised from the report. I understand that the board of Irish Press Newspapers has decided to convene an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders on 28 June 1995 for the purpose of appointing a liquidator to the company. The board has also decided to convene a meeting of creditors pursuant to section 266 of the Companies Act, 1963, on the same date at a time and venue to be decided and announced. This decision reflects the requirements of company law in the circumstances. There is no role for me as Minister in the process on which the company has embarked.
The situation in which Irish Press Newspapers finds itself is essentially a business, one compounded by industrial relations problems. The business situation is critical. The Irish Press titles have been suffering radically declining circulation over a long period. This decline can be seen from the following figures: comparing 1974 and 1994 figures the Irish Press then had a circulation of 92,200 which has dropped to 38,800. At that time The Sunday Press had a circulation of 427,000 which has dropped to 156,000. The Evening Press had a circulation of 154,000 which has dropped to 54,000. The relaunch of the Irish Press in tabloid form in 1988 did not arrest the decline in circulation.
The group has also had unhappy investment experiences with the Ingersol Group which have gone seriously wrong. This has led to protracted litigation. It has to be said that the recent Supreme Court judgment represented a further serious setback for the Irish Press Group. The issue of costs and the consideration for the Ingersol shares will be dealt with by the Supreme Court on 14 June 1995. However, the industrial relations record of the company over a long period has been far from good and the current difficulties are a further indication of that.
Against this background it is extraordinary for the board of Irish Press Newspapers to highlight the absence of a decision on the interim report of the Competition Authority as a contributory factor to the situation the group now finds itself in. It would have been more honest if the board, instead of seeking to blame others, had publicly recognised its failure to produce a commercial operation. The new situation that has emerged from the company has meant that it would be inappropriate for me or the Government to finalise a decision on the Competition Authority's recommendation until the outcome of the company's actions become clearer.
Let me make it perfectly clear that my decision on the alleged breaches in competition law has nothing to do with the current position in Irish Press Newspapers. Stripped of rhetoric yesterday's board statement is an admission of business failure. The key issue for it is new and additional investment. I am clear that this investment cannot come from the Irish Independent Group. I stated that publicly in response to questions and I repeat it today. If Irish Press Newspapers cannot seek investment from Independent Newspapers it must seek it elsewhere and what efforts have been made to do that? I cannot answer that with ultimate certainty. However, my understanding is that it has not sought proposals from other investors on the basis of its recently completed business plan. Turning to the current industrial relations difficulties at Irish Press Newspapers I am disappointed that further progress in reaching a settlement to the dispute has not been made. I am somewhat encouraged that direct talks took place yesterday between the NUJ and the Irish Press management. This start needs to be built upon. The labour relations institutions and, in particular, the Labour Court remain available to provide whatever assistance the parties might require. In the circumstances I do not see any useful role that I could play directly in helping to resolve the dispute. I urge the management and unions involved, even at this late stage, to use the interim period to resolve their difficulties. I am deeply concerned at the overall situation facng Irish Press Newspapers and the consequences are very serious for plurality and diversity in the newspaper media but especially for the 600 employees. I hope that solutions can be found to the business and industrial relations problems facing the company. The country would be a better place if a revitalised Irish Press Newspapers could have a viable, vibrant and commercial future.
Will the Minister confirm that in answers to questions he said he had precluded the Irish Independent group from any further investment in Irish Press Newspapers?
That is correct.
I thank the Minister for clarifying this because in effect that is his decision on the interim report of the Competition Authority, something that has been called for for some time. I am glad it is being raised in the Dáil where matters such as this should be fully discussed. Is the Minister ruling out any further investment by the Independent Newspapers in Irish Press Newspapers in any shape or form? I hope there will be a rescue package but the Independent Group is precluded from it. That is, in effect, the Minister's decision on the interim Competition Authority report. I noted what the Minister said about the reasons given by Irish Press Newspapers yesterday for closing shop. However, the Minister's delay and his dilatory performance in attending to the matter——
Is this an adjournment debate or Question Time?
We were looking for the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, last week on the Adjournment but he was not to be found.
With all Deputy Rabbitte's offices of State, spoken or unspoken, he is not yet the Ceann Comhairle or the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Will the Minister address the issue of what he can do to save the 600 jobs in the Irish Press Newspapers group of newspapers, including journalists and clerical and administrative jobs? The Minister says it is a private matter and that the Government does not have a role. However, as Minister for Enterprise and Employment, he has a duty and a right to make every effort to save the 600 jobs in a fine group of newspapers originally set up to be the voice of the voiceless.
The issue of resolving the industrial relations problems lies with the Labour Court which is in adjourned session attempting to deal with these issues. It is open to the parties at any stage to return to the Labour Court to deal with the problems they face. The decision to go into liquidation is for the company alone and it proposes to have a meeting of members and a meeting of creditors to wind it up. Those issues which are critical to the resolution of the problems are for others to deal with and it is important that the two parties should avail of the facility of the Labour Court if they wish to find solutions to their problems.
I have always said new investors must be found as a way of dealing with the problems in Irish Press Newspapers, and that has been my view at the outset. I believe it is also the view of Irish Press Newspapers that they need and wish to find other investors but they do not wish to see further control by Independent Newspapers. It is crucial that we deal with this issue in a way that will introduce new investors and provide a viable future for the paper.
I am confused. The Minister says that it is and has always been his view that Irish Press Newspapers needs new investors. I attended the Minister's forum a few weeks ago and it was not clear to me then that that was his view. I got the impression the Minister was simply trying to buy time. Why has he delayed issuing his recommendations on the Competition Authority report?
That report presented problems that had to be investigated with the parties concerned in the first instance. I met those involved to seek information on how they would proceed from the point where they had received the Competition Authority report. It was incumbent on me to hear the views of different parties. I was at a point where I would have reached a decision on the situation as it presented. The position has now radically changed with the decision by the Irish Press Newspapers to put its company, Irish Press Newspapers, into liquidation. This requires further assessment by me as Minister of the implications of that decision.
I am still awaiting what I hoped might be a reasonable reply to my question. What I heard was a speech on how blameless the Minister is. The Minister said he did not want to become involved. However, given the precedent of his intervention in Packard, involving a trip to Coventry with the Minister of State, and the intervention in Digital when the previous Government went to the USA, will the Minister at least facilitate a visit by a very important delegation to Quebec to find out more about the approach of the credit unions in that country when a French-speaking television station found itself under threat from the English-speaking media? Will the Minister consider the potential of such an approach for Irish Press Newspapers?
(Interruptions.)
Let us hear the Minister or I will bring this to a conclusion and go on to other business.
The question of putting together an investment package to provide a viable future for the Irish Press rests primarily with those involved, the new investors or Irish Press Newspapers as it currently exists. The newspaper is owned by shareholders, including a quarter shareholding by Independent Newspapers. It is up to the shareholders to look to possible future scenarios. I have no direct role in that. I am sure the Deputies' suggestions as to new potential investors are worthy of consideration by those at the heart of this issue.
The Minister says he cannot interfere in what he says is a private matter, but he interfered dramatically and with great financial input in the affairs of Shannon Aerospace. What is the difference? In reply to Deputy Harney the Minister said that the situation had now radically changed. Is the Minister still ruling out investment by the Independent group in Irish Press Newspapers? What investors has the Minister approached and what motivation has he inspired among investors to invest in Irish Press Newspapers holdings?
Shannon Aerospace was not an issue of this nature.
It was not a newspaper, it was a private company.
It got £12 million.
It was a private company which sought assistance with a restructuring plan on the basis of a viable business plan.
That is exactly what Irish Press Newspapers has.
Here we have an industrial relations problem on the one hand and, on the other, a decision by a company to put its company into liquidation.
It is not just an industrial relations problem.
I believe that any new investment should be other than by Independent Newspapers. It is important that there should not be a further enhancement of Independent Newspapers' investment because that would not be good for the diversity of the media.
Why did the Minister not say that two months ago?
The issue is that Irish Press Newspapers has now decided to put itself into liquidation and that changes the position in regard to the Competition Authority report. We must carefully assess the implications of the decision by the company to proceed on the path of liquidation.
The Minister deliberately helped its downfall.
That is nonsense.
Will the Minister clarify what he has just said? He said Irish Press Newspapers needs new investors. Is it his view that Independent Newspapers must divest itself of its interest in Irish Press Newspapers?
I have not expressed a view on that. I have said clearly that I do not believe Independent Newspapers should become more involved in Irish Press Newspapers as it now stands.
Can it maintain its existing holding?
The question of taking court action to seek to have Independent Newspapers divest itself of its existing hold over Irish Press Newspapers remains to be decided and that issue is dramatically changed by the decision of Irish Press Newspapers to put the paper into liquidation.
There will be no Irish Press Newspapers by the time the Minister decides.
Does the Minister accept we are dealing with an urgent issue?
He does not.
We will not be able to get new investors if the Irish Press maintain their interest at 25 per cent.
Why is the Minister pussyfooting around?
The Minister is the only one who can deal with that issue.
The company's decision to go into liquidation has changed the issue dramatically. The course of action advocated by the Competition Authority is not the making of a ministerial order if, for example, there had been an investigation under section 14. What the Competition Authority is seeking is a lengthy court action.
The Minister is getting ready by being lengthy himself.
This is extremely serious. I remind the Minister of the words of Edmund Burke: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing". I respect the Minister's capacity and ability to act when he chooses to do so. Does he agree he has a role to play as broker in bringing forward a viable alternative? The Lord Mayor of Dublin offered his services but the Minister is in a better position to act as honest broker. It is important to know the Minister's view on this: does he feel Ireland can have a newspaper industry only if wealthy moguls are prepared to finance it or does he see alternatives?
The business problems of the ordinary print the Irish Press were brought about by a prolonged decline in its circulation, substantial financial losses, the recent loss of an action in the Supreme Court which damaged its financial base and a prolonged industrial dispute. The question of finding viable alternatives depends on a viable financial plan to deal with those issues.
There is a plan.
The company has taken the view that those issues are best dealt with by putting the company into liquidation. It is not for me to find viable alternatives when a company decides to go into liquidation.
Intervention.
The company has a right to consider any proposals put forward. It is not for me to decide them. The company owns the newspaper and it has decided not to seek further investors but to go into liquidation. That is the reality. It has been brought about as a result of problems which the company experienced and does not have anything to do with the Competition Authority. It is disingenuous to suggest that the source of the company's problems lies with the Competition Authority and the decision which is awaited.
Am I correct in saying that the Minister will not allow the Independent group to go beyond its present stake in the Irish Press but will not ask it to divest itself of its present holding?
The Minister has to make up his mind.
The decision to go into liquidation has changed the position. We do not know the status of the titles and many other issues are unclear. It is only right to assess the implications of the decision to go into liquidation.
For another two months?
The company will exists.
It is not in liquidation. It is a stated liquidation.
We must bring this matter to finality.
The company is not in liquidation.
Instead of adopting a "little boy lost" attitude the Minister should face up to the fact that the company is irrecoverable unless he makes a decision on whether the titles are the subject of a valid charge in favour of the Independent newspaper group and that no sensible investor would invest in the group while this matter remains in doubt. The Minister has sole responsibility for solving the matter. Kicking to touch, abdicating his role as Minister and deciding to bury his head in the sand is contributing to the uncertainty which will destroy competition in the newspaper market. It will remain impossible to restore competition until he faces up to his responsibilities as Minister and makes a decision on the issue.
If it was Packard there would be a photocall by now.
Wrong information would have been given to the workers.
The question of whether the Irish Independent has a valid charge is not at issue.
We are talking about the titles. It is secured on the titles.
That is a known fact.
How can anyone buy without knowing the status?
The Deputy wants to give questions and answers simultaneously.
I am asking the Minister to give the answers.
Allow the Minister to reply without interruption.
If the Deputy advocates that the Independent group divest itself of its shares and withdraws its loan——
What does the Minister advocate? He has responsibility.
That would require a court action. It is not for instantaneous decision by the Minister.
It is.
It is a decision for the courts.
It is an urgent decision.
The courts would have to decide whether in the circumstances outlined by the Competition Authority they view the investment by the Independent group as a breach of sections 4 and 5. That decision would have to be made by the courts on foot of a court action.
That would take two years.
If the Deputy suggests that course of action would provide an instantaneous solution——
I do not. The Minister must make a decision.
The Deputy suggests that by taking time to make the decision I am holding back on something that can be resolved instantaneously.
The Minister is. No one can invest as long as the Independent group——
The Deputy must be aware that the outcome he seeks can only be secured through a court action lasting two years. It will not be the quick and easy fix he suggests.
It might not take a court decision.
There are 600 jobs at stake.
That concludes questions for today.