Vol. 489 No. 2
18 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress, if any, she has made with regard to the newspaper industry; and whether she has received a report from the special group set up to advise her on this industry. [7624/98]
37 Mr. McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress, if any, she has made with regard to the newspaper industry; and whether she has received a report from the special group set up to advise her on this industry. [7625/98]
43 Mr. McGinley asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress, if any, she has made with regard to the newspaper industry; and whether she has received a report from the special group set up to advise her on this industry. [7622/98]
45 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress, if any, she has made with regard to the newspaper industry; and whether she has received a report from the special group set up to advise her on this industry. [7623/98]
80 Mrs. Owen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress, if any, she has made with regard to the newspaper industry; and whether she has received a report from the special group set up to advise her on this industry. [7698/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 18, 37, 43, 45 and 80 together.
I refer the Deputy to the replies I gave on 18 February 1998 to Questions Nos. 52, 59, 73, 84 and 114 and to Questions Nos. 15, 22, 52, 60 and 75 which I gave on 6 November 1997. The Competition and Mergers Review Group was established by my predecessor with the following terms of reference: To review and make recommendations on each of the following areas: the mergers legislation in the context of a legislative consolidation; the effectiveness of competition legislation and associated regulations; cultural matters in the context of the 1991 Act and in particular section 4 (2) of that Act; and appropriate structures for implementation of the above legislation.
As I informed the House on 6 November 1997, I have also asked the review group to advise me on how best to implement certain recommendations of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry in relation to the regulation of ownership, merger control and concentration of media ownership.
The review group is progressing its work in these complex and wide ranging areas and I expect that it will report to me later this year.
