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TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY has said he is “concerned” about the media merger between Independent News and Media (INM) and publishing company Celtic Media.
INM – which owns the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent, the Herald and a number of regional titles – will gain ownership of a number of other regional newspapers if the acquisition goes ahead.
The Celtic Media group is made up of seven regional titles, including the Connaught Telegraph, the Meath Chronicle and the Anglo-Celt.
The takeover was approved by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in November.
Denis O’Brien is the major shareholder in INM and is also the owner of Communicorp which has multiple Irish radio stations, including Newstalk and Today FM.
Speaking in the Dáil this afternoon, the Taoiseach said the proposal from INM to buy Celtic Media “is a matter of concern”.
Enda Kenny told the chamber that the process of examining the merger is underway.
Calling for further investigation, AAA-PBP TD Bríd Smith said:
“This issue needs public scrutiny as otherwise we will hurtle towards a dictatorship in the media.
There must be proper public scrutiny of what is taking place… in terms of media ownership, the country will be almost entirely owned by Denis O’Brien and his consortium, Independent News and Media, if the merger goes ahead.
There is extreme concern about plurality in the media in the event that the merger proceeds.
The Irish Times reports today that the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has specifically called for businessman Denis O’Brien to appear before the committee.
The proposed acquisition by INM has been referred for further assessment to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI).
The Taoiseach told the Dáil that once a proposed media merger receives clearance from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on competition grounds, it has to be notified to the minister for communications to assess the proposed merger on media plurality grounds.
After examining the proposed merger, the minister can decide to send the case to the BAI to provide him with a report detailing its recommendations on the matter.
Media plurality
“The Taoiseach should not pretend this will be an even-handed discrepancy or that the media depends on good journalism. That is not the case because editorial control is everything. This is an issue of national interest and the Taoiseach should be concerned about it,” said Smith.
“I am concerned,” said the Taoiseach, but he said there is a process under way. Submissions to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland must be made within the next two weeks.
“I don’t want to pre-empt what the recommendations or the view or the analysis of the BAI are,” he said.
Smith confirmed to TheJournal.ie that members of the NUJ, INM and Celtic Media have been invited to a meeting of the committee next Tuesday.
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I bet the sale of black market fags are up by a similar amount.
€5 a pack is the current price apparently. God knows whats in them.
possibly, they would need to publish the figure on matches and lighters to show up the true picture
I got a hand written note in the door this morning. 200 cigarettes for 30 euro.
That’s just because I gave up.
Me also.
Me too
Gave up the filthy smokes 11 months ago after 15 years. never been more pleased with myself for sticking to it. hopefully sales keep going this way
I remember some years back an article in the Readers Digest that said that a particular brand of rolling tobacco had 20% of the UK market even though it was not even sold over the counter by the company that made it. It was all smuggled in and was costing the Exchequer a small fortune in lost duty and taxes.
Combination of increased black economy and less smokers I would think. If they put more duty on cigarettes at budget time, the black economy will be laughing.
Good news on the lung cancer front
You think so? I’d have thought people smoking unfiltered rollies or god knows what’s in them illegal imports would be more, rather than less, susceptible to lung cancer…
And that’s before we factor in the reduction of the subsidy that smokers pay towards everyone’s health service…
If everyone’s starts smoking again the economy would re bound in no time, massive revenues, fewer pensioners you know it makes sense. Mines a benson and hedges. One rule you can only buy cigarettes if you have private health insurance from a uk or German insurer.
Give me a pack of Goldflake or Players any day
The issue is pretty universal see:-
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0336.pdf
Tips ( no pun intended) for the Finance Dept.
have your say