Bernard Allen
Ceist:66 Mr. Allen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she has received the report on the newspaper industry; and, if so, the action, if any, she proposes to take on its contents. [21723/98]
Written Answers. - Newspaper Industry.
Nora Owen
Ceist:132 Mrs. Owen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she has received the report on the newspaper industry; and the actions, if any, she proposes to take on its contents. [21839/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 132 together.
The Competition and Mergers Review Group was established, under the chairmanship of Mr. Michael Collins, SC, by my predecessor with the following terms of reference: to review and make recommendations on the mergers legislation in the context of legislative consolidation; the effectiveness of competition legislation and associated regulations; cultural matters in the context of the Competition Act, 1991, and in particular, section 4 (2) of that Act, and appropriate structures for implementation of the above legislation.
I informed the House on 6 November 1997 that I had asked the group, in the context of their review of mergers and competition legislation, to take account of and advise me on how best to implement certain recommendations of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry, relating specificially to the regulation of ownership, merger and control and concentration of media ownership.
In the foreword to its discussion paper on mergers which was published in July of this year and which invited comments from the public and interested parties, the chairman of the group refers to this matter. He expects to publish a discussion paper on these newspaper recommendations shortly and, when comments have been received, he proposes that the group will incorporate its recommendation in this regard in the final version of the report to be submitted to me.
The overall work of the review group is complex and wide ranging but it is making steady progress. I am hopeful that it will submit its final report and recommendations to me early in the new year.