Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 3 Dec 1996

Vol. 472 No. 3

Written Answers. - Newspaper Industry.

Mary Harney

Question:

44 Miss Harney asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the aspects of the report of the commission into the newspaper industry he intends to act upon; and the legislation, if any, he is considering in this regard. [23213/96]

Minister for Enterprise and Employment (Mr. R. Bruton)

In my statement at the publication of the Report of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry on 30 July 1996, I said that the indigenous industry was a vital one. I agreed with the commission when it pointed out in its report:

The social, political and cultural role of the indigenous newspaper industry which distinguishes it from other industries consists primarily in its duty and in its ability to reflect a sense of national identity in an informative, integrative but also critical fashion.

On that occasion, I also indicated my support in principal for the commission's recommendations that came within my Department's remit.

On 26 November 1996, I reported to Government in regard to my role in co-ordinating the work of the various Departments on the commission's recommendations. The Government has approved my intention to revert to them concerning legislation in relation to my own area of responsibility. Specifically this legislation concerns below cost selling, merger control, regulation of ownership and concentration of media ownership.

On foot of the Government's recent decision, I am preparing legislative proposals on these issues and I expect to bring them to Government in early 1997. There are very complex legal and economic issues involved in this work. I am taking appropriate advice on these matters before I bring forward specific proposals to Government.

The recommendations relating to FÁS and the Labour Relations Commission do not require legislation. I am ensuring that those bodies will provide all the necessary assistance to the industry. Other Ministers will be pursuing matters appropriate to their own Departments.

I have to say, in addition, that legislation or other Government action alone will not secure the future of a vibrant indigenous newspaper industry. Charting a thriving industry for the future is of course primarily in the hands of the industry itself. They have the significant task of making newspapers more relevant to the needs of the modern marketplace for news and views, and also to the changing lifestyles and habits of our society. Equally, the commission identified the task of improving competitiveness as a key one.

The competitiveness agenda is not just confined to labour costs and numbers, important as these are, but must embrace issues such as work practices, printing, technology and distribution. The Irish newspaper industry must be prepared to confront these problems themselves.