Britain's Daily Mail made a bid to capture a bigger slice of Ireland's booming newspaper sector yesterday, going up against home-grown powerhouse the Irish Independent, owned by Independent News & Media.

The launch of the Irish Daily Mail is the third incursion into one of Europe's hottest newspaper markets by Daily Mail and General Trust. Its other titles are Ireland on Sunday and the joint venture Metro freesheet.

Backed by a large TV advertising campaign, the Irish Daily Mail was given away free yesterday and will sell for €0.30 for the rest of this week; its ultimate cover price has not been disclosed.

Unlike most markets in Western Europe, Ireland's newspaper sector is on the upswing, with a 10-year economic boom fuelling advertising sales and a growing population helping to maintain circulation figures. Classified ad sales, a weak spot for many European newspapers facing competition from the Internet, have held up because the overall economy is growing so quickly. Newspapers also have a commanding position in Ireland's advertising sector, with about a 50 per cent market share of ad spending.

"You can understand why DMGT wants a crack at the market. You only have to look at Independent News & Media to see the type of returns they generate. In the Republic of Ireland it's in the region of €90 million in operating profits," said Goodbody analyst Neil Clifford.

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