Minister Martin announces the establishment of an Advisory Group on media mergers

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Mr Micheál Martin T.D. has today (Sunday 30^st March, 2008) announced the establishment of an Advisory Group to review the current legislative framework relating to the public interest aspects of media mergers in Ireland and to make recommendations as appropriate.

The group is being established in the context of the current review of the operation and implementation of the Competition Act 2002. The Minister’s role under the “media” provisions in the Act involves the consideration of a media merger in the context of the “relevant criteria” as defined in Section 23 (10) of the Competition Act. These criteria essentially relate to diversity/plurality of views in the Irish public sphere, the strength and competitiveness of media business indigenous to the State and the dispersion of media ownership amongst individuals and other undertakings.

The group will be chaired by Mr Paul Sreenan, Senior Counsel and will report to the Minister within three months.

Making the announcement, Minister Martin said “ I believe that it is appropriate in the context of the current review of the Competition Act 2002 to have a specific look at the existing criteria and arrangements for considering and assessing how a proposed merger might affect the diversity of views and the concentration of ownership within and across media businesses. I look forward to receiving the report of the group in due course”.