Madam, – Representatives of the literature sector (August 19th) make a good case for easing the burden on publishers, but the contribution of publishers to the economy would be enormously increased if aid was made conditional on their using Irish printers.
I have just gone to press with listings of 153 Irish-interest books received in the past three months. Of these, 120 came from Irish publishers, and of those, only 45 were printed in Ireland. The rest provided financial support to Singapore and Hong Kong among other countries where wages are such that it’s cheaper for Irish publishers to ship books half-way round the world than to print here. If the Arts Council talked with Irish printers, I bet they’d listen. – Yours, etc,