THE work of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry is not now expected to be completed until the end of May, despite the January deadline set by the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton.
Between 40 and 50 submissions have been received and the commission has also conducted its own research into public attitudes to newspaper purchase, particularly with regard to British newspapers.
Until Christmas, the commission was meeting fortnightly, but it has been meeting weekly since the beginning of January.
The 21 member commission will be holding a two day meeting next week so that its recommendations can be with the Minister as soon as possible.
A submission to the commission from the National Union of Journalists, which represents over 95 per cent of journalists in national newspapers, has called for a reduction in VAT, the reform of libel and defamation law, the creation of a freedom of information culture and a system of subsidies to promote media diversity.
The NUJ's submission says that libel awards are "outrageously high" and generally only available to the rich and powerful. Court judgments took little account of whether allegations were true and legislation made it difficult to hold the rich and powerful accountable for their actions.
The NUJ has called for a public interest defence which would mean that prominent citizens involved in business or public life could not avail of privacy laws.
To offset this, the NUJ is willing to consider the establishment of a self regulatory press council drawn from the industry and appointed by the Minister.
The NUJ also said that in order to create a diverse media it was necessary to look beyond simply promoting competition.
Competition has reduced three evening papers in London to one, 11 daily newspapers in New York to three, two of which are loss making, and helped put the Irish Press Group out of business."
The NUJ said that concentration of ownership in Ireland had an adverse impact on diversity and also reduced the ability of journalists to resist commercial and other pressures by restricting their job options.
Mr Bruton announced he was setting up the Commission last July at the height of the problems at the Irish Press, which led to the demise of the group.
Chaired by the former Chief Justice, Mr Thomas Finlay, the commission's brief covers diversity and ownership, competitiveness, the effects of the sales of the British press in Ireland and the standards of coverage in Irish newspapers.