The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, will be lobbied by newspaper, periodical and printer interests over the next few weeks following the announcement of increases in subscription postage costs by An Post and the abolition of a flat-rate system on weight.
Subscribers living in Britain can now expect to pay more than three times in postal charges what they had been charged for a newspaper of more than 48 pages. An Post last imposed increases in April 1998, when the basic postage on newspaper subscription went up from 28p to 30p within Ireland, and the rate for Britain rose from 33p to 40p.
Under the proposed new pricing structure, the rate within Ireland rises from 30p to 35p for a package under 250 grams, and from 40p to 80p when posting to Britain.
A package weighing over 250 grams will cost 70p to post within Ireland and £1.35 (€1.71) to be sent to Britain.
The chief executive of An Post, Mr John Hynes, says the changes are necessary under the EU Postal Directive.
"An Post must charge cost-related prices for services provided outside the scope of our postal monopoly," he said.
A spokesman for Ms O'Rourke said it was not within her remit to revoke the charges.
However, the industry would be hoping for a lead-in time to take account of the price changes in their budgets.
The National Newspapers of Ireland, representing 11 national titles, is seeking "a stay of execution" on the imposition of the charges, according to its chairman, Mr Gavin O'Reilly. He said the price increases were yet another example of how successive governments had allowed the competitiveness of the print industry to be compromised.
Smaller indigenous publishers would be hit most by the postal increases, he added.
The Regional Newspapers Association of Ireland, representing about 50 titles, is formulating a response for the Minister, based on the reactions of the titles' proprietors. The association's chief executive, Mr Neville Galloway, said margins were already tight on foreign subscriptions.
"It will make people think hard about whether it is worth their while to get the weekly paper," he said.
Mr Frank Grennan, the managing director of Jemma Publications, which owns such trade magazine titles as Hotel & Catering Review, Licensing World and Construction & Property News, said that, despite the holiday period, a co-ordinated approach was emerging across the industry.
"There will be an industry-wide campaign on this thing because it is affecting everybody badly. You can take it that the momentum will be really gaining on this within the next couple of weeks," he said.
The suddenness of the announcement has also taken the industry by surprise.
Mr Grennan said three working days notice had been given, which was "the worst possible reflection of how a monopoly can operate".
"In this day and age, you do not do that to customers who are spending with you month in and month out," he said.
It is understood that delays in the notification process relating to the EU directive led to An Post announcing the price increases so close to the time when they had to take effect. An Post has said it would meet customers "who are having difficulties with the notice and timing of the increases".
