Vol. 472 No. 8
115 Mrs. O'Rourke asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment if he will give details of the Government decision to introduce legislation dealing with below-cost selling of newspapers; the stage of preparation of this Bill; the timeframe proposed for this Bill; when the heads of the Bill will be ready; and the priority the Government is giving to this legislation. [24260/96]
On 26 November 1996 I reported to Government in regard to my role in co-ordinating the work of the various Departments on the recommendations of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry. The Government approved my intention to revert to it regarding legislation in relation to the recommendations within my own area of responsibility.
These recommendations concern below-cost selling of newspapers, merger control, regulation of ownership and concentration of media ownership. I am assessing proposals for legislation specific to newspapers in this regard at present.
While there are very complex legal and economic issues involved in this work, I am taking appropriate advice. This work is receiving high priority within my Department. I expect to revert to Government in the matter as soon as possible with specific proposals for its consideration and decision.
It is important to point out that legislation in relation to mergers and competition by Government will not secure the competitive 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. It has the significant task of adapting newspapers to the change in requirements of the consumer, the needs of the modern marketplace for news and views, and also to the changing lifestyles and habits of our society. The Commission on the Newspaper Industry identified the task of improving competitiveness as a key one to be addressed by the industry.
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, distribution and training. The Irish newspaper industry must be prepared to confront these problems and the agencies of the State are available to assist it in this as appropriate.
