PLANS to relaunch the Sunday Press newspaper have been abandoned, following Independent Newspapers' decision not to provide further financial support for the project.
The Independent group's decision was announced yesterday by Mr Vincent Jennings, chairman of Irish Press plc, at a meeting of former senior Press group staff employed on a consultancy basis to plan the relaunch.
It is understood that Mr Jennings told the meeting that further investment from Independent Newspapers would not be forthcoming and that the project was now over.
The decision means that the that the existing directors of Irish Press plc will have to seek new investors to fund a relaunch of any of the three titles. Alternatively, the titles may be offered for sale.
A spokesman for Irish Press plc said last night the company was making no comment.
Independent Newspapers holds a 24.9 per cent share in Irish Press Publications, the company which owns the three newspapers. It had indicated a willingness to be involved in a relaunch of the Sunday Press, following the collapse last September of Irish Press Newspapers, the group's publishing arm.
Despite warnings from the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, that he would view any involvement in a revived Irish Press group by Independent Newspapers as contrary to competition law, the two parties proceeded with plans for a relaunch.
Last night a spokesman for Mr Bruton said he was awaiting developments. He had been unable to confirm the Independent group's withdrawal.
A National Union of Journalists' spokesman for former Irish Press journalists, Mr Ronan Quinlan, called on Independent Newspapers and Irish Press plc to divest themselves of the titles, so that other interests could enter the market.
It was a pity Independent Newspapers had not done this when the examiner had proposals for new investors to keep the titles alive last summer, he added.
The NUJ Irish secretary, Mr Eoin Ronayne, said the decision by Independent Newspapers to withdraw funding was "scandalous".
He added: "This was simply a game to keep the newspapers off the streets If investment been possible during the summer there would have been possibly 200 people in work today."
The vehicle for the relaunch was a company called Solange Ltd, formed last year, by Mr Jennings and Dr Eamon de Valera.
A number of former key staff of the Press group had been hired as consultants, including the former editor of the Irish Press, Mr Hugh Lambert. Other consultants were Mr Michael Keane, former editor of the Sunday Press Mr Niall Connolly, a former director of Irish Press Newspapers, and some former senior advertising staff.
The newspaper titles, the principle remaining asset of the Irish Press group are held by a separate company, Irish Press Publications. Independent Newspapers has a 24.9 per cent share in this company also.
Those involved in the relaunch were given no indication yesterday as to why Independent Newspapers had decided not to continue backing the Sunday Press relaunch. However, last week Mr Bruton told the Dail that he had made it "very clear to the Press and Independent that competition legislation will be upheld by the State".
This was taken to mean that he would challenge any attempted relaunch involving Independent Newspapers. It was believed in some quarters that Mr Bruton's previous hard line on this had softened, but last week's statement showed that it had not and that any relaunch could have ended up in long and expensive litigation.
It is estimated by industry sources that the relaunch would have cost in the region of £5 million to £6 million. It was expected that Independent Newspapers would have provided at least half that sum.
A number of investors had indicated interest in the Irish Press titles, including at least one Irish American consortium. However, it is believed that all potential investors withdrew when the chief executive and chairman of Irish Press plc, Dr Eamon de Valera and Mr Vincent Jennings told the last a.g.m. in December 1995 of their intention to relaunch.
The group managing director and deputy chief executive of The Irish Times Ltd, Mr Louis O'Neill, said the Irish Times' plans for a Sunday newspaper had not changed and the proposal was still being investigated.