Ministers to have power over media mergers

The Government has agreed new powers which will allow a minister determine whether proposed media mergers are in the public interest in terms of diversity in the sector.

New regulations-brought to Cabinet this week will mean notification must be given of proposed mergers and that there will be new protections for the Irish language.

However, trade unions have said the move is too late, while journalist representatives highlighted the control held by media tycoon Denis O’Brien through his firm Communicorp.

Communications Minister Alex White announced the regulations yesterday. For any new merger, a minister will consider the size of a holding in a company held by a party and whether this gives an individual “significant interest”.

This is where a party has sufficient voting, financial or ownership strength to influence areas such as news or current affairs. A voting strength of over 20% in a business would amount to significant interest.

New media merger laws were enacted last October, but this is the first time the new regulations have been published. Media mergers will be subjected to a test to see if they maintain plurality. They will be examined for their impact on editorial independence, the diversity of content, and the breakdown of market share.

There has been speculation that Independent News and Media — owned by Mr O’Brien — may bid for TV3. Mr O’Brien already has significant interests in Newstalk and Today FM. Submissions were made to Mr White, including from the Broadcasting Association of Ireland and the National Newspapers of Ireland.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions said the new rules were inadequate and did not address “the current media dominance by a small group of companies”.