28E.—(1) Where the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources makes a determination under section 28D(1)(c), he or she shall request the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to carry out an examination (in this Part referred to as a "full media merger examination") in relation to the media merger concerned.

(2) On receipt of a request under subsection (1), the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland shall, as soon as may be—

(a) cause a copy of the request to be published on the website of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland,

(b) invite submissions to be made not later than 20 working days from the date of publication of the request pursuant to paragraph (a), and

(c) cause a copy of the request to be sent to the Joint Oireachtas Committee and invite a submission from that Joint Oireachtas Committee within the period specified in paragraph (b).

(3) The submissions referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (2) —

(a) shall be furnished, pursuant to subsection (9)(c), to the undertakings involved in the media merger,

(b) shall be furnished to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and where an advisory panel has been established under section 28F, to the advisory panel, to enable them to perform their functions under this Part,

(c) may be referred to or quoted from in, or annexed to, the documents referred to in subsections (9)(a) and (12)(b) and section 28G(4)(c), and

(d) shall not be published or otherwise disclosed to the public by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland or the advisory panel before the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources publishes the documents referred to in section 28G(4)(c).

(4) The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland shall—

(a) not later than 80 working days from the date of the request under subsection (1) or the applicable date, whichever is the later, make a report in writing to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in relation to its examination, and

(b) as soon as may be after making the report under paragraph (a), send the report to the undertakings involved.

(5) A report under subsection (4) shall contain a recommendation as to whether the media merger should be put into effect with or without conditions or should not be put into effect.

(6) The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, in order to make a report under subsection (4), shall form a view as to whether the result of the media merger is likely to be contrary to the public interest in protecting plurality of the media in the State, and for that purpose, shall have regard to—

(a) the relevant criteria,

(b) any guidelines issued by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources under section 28L,

(c) all submissions made and information provided—

(i) to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, during his or her initial examination under section 28D, by the undertakings involved in the media merger, and

(ii) to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, during the full media merger examination, by the undertakings involved in the media merger, by any other person in response to an invitation for submissions under subsection (2)(b), or by the Joint Oireachtas Committee in response to an invitation for a submission under subsection (2)(c),

(d) and take full account of, where applicable, the determination of the Commission under paragraph (a) of section 21(2) or under paragraph (a) or (c) of section 22(3),

(e) and take full account of, where applicable, the decision by the European Commission under Article 6(1)(b) or Article 8(1) or (2) of the Council Regulation,

(f) where applicable, the opinion of the advisory panel established under section 28F and any clarifications of the opinion provided by the advisory panel in accordance with that section,

(g) if the undertakings involved have responded to the draft report and recommendation provided to them pursuant to subsection (9), the draft report and recommendation and the responses of the undertakings involved to the draft report and recommendation,

(h) relevant reports published by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources under section 28M, and

(i) relevant research published by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland under section 28M.

(7) Where the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland requires further information for the purposes of this section, it may, by notice in writing served on the undertakings, require any one or more of the undertakings involved to supply to it specified information within a specified period, and an undertaking of whom such a requirement is made shall comply with it.

(8) For the purposes of paragraph (6), the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland may enter into discussions with the undertakings involved in the media merger or with any individual or any other undertaking with a view to identifying measures which would ameliorate any effects of the media merger on plurality of the media in the State.

(9) The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland shall, not later than 30 working days before it is due to make its report under subsection (4), furnish the undertakings involved with—

(a) its draft report and draft recommendation to which the undertakings involved may respond not later than 10 working days from the date of receiving the draft report and draft recommendation,

(b) if applicable, the opinion and any clarifications issued by the advisory panel under section 28F, and

(c) if applicable, the submissions referred to in subsection (6)(c).

(10) In the course of any discussions under subsection (8), any of the undertakings involved in the media merger concerned may submit to it, not later than 20 working days before the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland is due to make its report to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources under subsection (4), proposed commitments of the kind mentioned in subsection (11) with a view to the proposed commitments becoming binding on it or them if the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources incorporates the proposed commitments as specified conditions to be complied with in his or her determination under section 28G(1)(c) in relation to the media merger.

(11) The proposed commitments referred to in subsection (10) are proposed commitments with regard to the manner in which the media merger may be put into effect or to the taking, in relation to the media merger, of any other measures referred to in subsection (8).

(12) Not later than 7 working days from the date of the making of its report to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources under subsection (4), the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland—

(a) may, without reconsidering or re-opening any aspect of its report, correct the report so as to remove any clerical or typographical errors or any errors of a similar nature, and

(b) where one or more such corrections have been made, shall—

(i) send the corrected report to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the undertakings involved, and

(ii) inform the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the undertakings involved of the corrections made.

(13) In this section, reference to "applicable date" means—

(a) unless paragraph (b) applies, the date the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources makes a determination under section 28D(1)(c),

(b) if the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has made, under F137[subsection (7)], not later than 30 working days from the date the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources makes a determination under section 28D(1)(c), a requirement or requirements of one or more of the undertakings involved—

(i) the date on which the requirement is complied with or, in case 2 or more requirements are made and each is complied with, whichever of the dates on which the requirements are complied with is the later or latest,

(ii) where the requirement is not complied with or each of the 2 or more requirements is not complied with, the date immediately following the expiry of the period specified in the requirement or, as the case may be, the date immediately following the expiry of whichever of the respective periods specified in the requirements is the last to expire, or

(iii) in case 2 or more requirements are made but one or more but not all of them are complied with, the later or latest of the following dates, namely the dates provided by applying—

(I) subparagraph (i) to the requirement or requirements complied with, and

(II) subparagraph (ii) to the requirement or requirements not complied with.

(14) The reference in the definition of "applicable date" in subsection (13) to the period specified in a requirement is a reference to the period specified in the requirement as being the period within which the information concerned shall be supplied.]