PLANS to introduce a ban on below-cost selling by British newspapers are at an advanced stage, and the Department of Enterprise and Employment has hired independent specialists to help draft the legislation, sources said last night.
Accountants, lawyers and an economist have been brought in, and are attempting to draw up a Bill which would outlaw the practice of boosting sales of newspapers by "dumping" copies on smaller markets, and till remaining flexible enough to allow normal promotional activities, the sources added.
In recent months, fierce competition for advertising in the British newspaper market has seen many titles try to maximise their sales figures. This has led to marketing drives in Ireland, often involving an Irish edition, with the newspapers priced well below both The Irish Times and The Irish Independent.
Last year, the Newspaper Commission, established in the wake of the closure of The Irish Press, concluded that a number of British newspapers were being sold in Ireland at below the average marginal cost of their Irish editions. The heads of the Bill should be ready by the spring, the sources added.
But industry analysts said that while the Government should feel obliged to address the practise with urgency, some of the issues were more complicated than they appeared. One specialist pointed to the unclear financial position of The Sunday Tribune, which is believed to be subsidised to an extent each week by its parent organisation, Independent Newspapers.
Ironically, the managing director of Independent Newspapers, Mr David Palmer, made a speech yesterday warning of the threat to the indigenous newspaper business through below-cost selling by British papers. Mr Palmer also suggested that Irish papers should consider lowering their cover prices, and called on the Government to abolish VAT on papers.
Government sources said they [welcomed the thrust of Mr Palmer's assertion that the industry needed to address competitive requirements, particularly in partnership with the trades unions involved.
