Minister for Communications Alex White has rejected suggestions that his new media mergers guidelines are "too late" and said expectations that existing ownership across media could be unpicked were "unrealistic".

The new guidelines say it is “undesirable” for one person or business to hold excessive influence and introduce a “public value” test for future consolidation in the industry.

The guidelines were described by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) as “lamentably late”, but the union gave them an otherwise guarded welcome.

Matter of judgment

Speaking to The Irish Times, Mr White, while declining to comment on specific proprietors or companies, said anyone holding over 20 per cent of shares or ownership would find it more difficult to carry out mergers. However, he said it would be a "matter of judgement" on individual cases to decide how much more difficult it would be.

“You have a have a level of discretion, a margin legally,” he said. “There has to be a margin of discretion there so you can guide decision-makers, guide the minister and guide ministers in the future and guide the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.”

The draft guidelines also set out thresholds which specify how many shares or holdings are needed to be able to influence the “direction or policy . . . with regard to news, current affairs or cultural content”.

They say that “a holding or voting strength of more than 20 per cent . . . will generally constitute a significant interest”, while a 10 per cent share could also constitute a “significant interest”. A “significant interest” is defined as having “sufficient voting, financial or ownership strength” to influence direction or policy.

Raised concerns

The NUJ and others have raised concerns about the levels of media ownership of billionaire businessman Denis O'Brien. Mr O'Brien is the biggest shareholder in Independent News and Media (INM) with a 29.9 per cent stake but has been deemed by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland not to control INM.

Mr O'Brien also owns Communicorp, the radio group which includes Today FM and Newstalk. Newstalk supplies news to over 20 local stations.

The guidelines set out how a possible merger may be assessed, under a new system which saw the Department of Communications assume control of media mergers from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

The Minister for Communications will now decide if a media merger is in the public interest while the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission will determine if a deal can proceed on competition grounds.

"No guidelines or ministerial orders can extend what's in the legislation passed by the Oireachtas, " Mr White added.