Sales of British newspapers in the Republic of Ireland have declined, according to figures produced under new rules for calculating newspaper circulation. Details released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for June show that recorded sales of British daily newspapers are down by 25 percentage points, and of Sunday newspapers by 24 points, on June of last year.
The London Times has suffered the biggest fall in percentage terms: by 59 points, from 13,005 copies to 5,371. The London Independent is also down hugely in percentage terms, by 52 points, from 4,282 to 2,049.
Only two newspapers showed an increase: the Daily Mail, up 17 percentage points to 4,766, and the Guardian, up six points to 2,712. Both newspapers are also doing well in their home markets.
On Sundays the Sunday Telegraph showed the greatest decline, down 47 points, with the Sunday Mirror just behind it at 46 points down.
The major reason for the drop is that the ABC has implemented a new rule which prevents British newspaper publishers from including thousands of unsold copies in their Irish circulation figures.
The other reason, according to the co-ordinating director of the National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI), Mr Frank Cullen, was that June was particularly newsworthy.
"Intrinsically Irish issues like the election and the Payments to Politicians Tribunal, which dominated the agenda in the month of June, meant that more Irish newspapers were being sold, confirming the widely-held view that no one can accurately describe and comment on the nation's affairs better than those who are part of its society," he said.