The final say on media mergers would rest with the legislature, the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, said in the Seanad.

Initiating the debate on the Competition Bill, she said that Section 24 provided that any ministerial order relating to a media merger could be annulled by either House of the Oireachtas. The Competition Authority would exercise its normal competition scrutiny over media mergers and it was not to be expected that this would be over-ruled frequently.

She said a major policy innovation was the proposed transfer from the Minister to the authority responsibility for examining and deciding upon mergers generally, based on competition criteria only.