Seanad debate on privacy and defamation: The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, has said media organisations will have to subscribe to a code of conduct set out by a new Press Council to avail of the defence of "reasonable publication" in libel actions.
Such a code would provide protection to the privacy of individual citizens from media intrusion, he said. Organisations not members of the council would be required to operate an equivalent "fairness regime" or code of conduct to avail of the defence.
While such a defence is not at present available, the Minister indicated that it will be included in new defamation laws he is preparing. The legislation will give statutory recognition to a Press Council which will be independent of the Government.
In a Seanad debate on the privacy and defamation, Mr McDowell indicated that the new legislation will include provisions for an ombudsman service to deal with complaints from individuals affected by breaches of standards set out in a code of standards.
Mr McDowell said it was logical to link the notion of reasonable publication to a willingness to accept Press Council decisions and take action on foot of them.
"There is a certain logic to that linkage. It connects to the notion of a fair press being allowed a greater degree of latitude in which to operate." The Minister said he was not in favour of Government-appointed Press Council, preferring an independent body "composed of representatives of civic society, with minority representation from media interests and journalists".
The Oireachtas would move a resolution for an independent organisation, which might request him to be recognised as the Press Council for the purposes of a new Defamation Act.
"Appropriate recognition, which could bring certain privileges such as immunity from action in respect of their judgments, decisions, directions and so on could be conferred by statute on such a Press Council.
"I envisage that such a council would have, as its central focus, a press code of standards supported by and subscribed to by all print media organisations."
In a passing reference to criticism in the Seanad of an Irish Times column last Tuesday by Kevin Myers, Mr McDowell said there was a danger in arguing that all press activity should be capable of regulation in the interests of good taste, behaviour and conventional mores.
"That is not and will never be my approach. It is not the business of a Press Council to start telling columnists what they should or should not say," he said.
"The public are the best judges of these matters and they do not need a Press Council to speak on their behalf.
"On occasion I, and I have no doubt many others, feel a certain degree of distaste for individual articles or editorial decisions. While politicians have to develop thick skins, vulnerable people in society need not have to do so."
The Minister criticised media organisations for attacking non-State regulation elsewhere in society, although stating it was appropriate for themselves.
Media self-regulation must embrace the notion that there were rules available to injured parties under which they could seek redress from abuses of press power, he said. "If we have a toothless Press Council, which can do nothing and effectively be ignored with complete impunity, is it worth having at all?"
The Minister was in consultation with the National Newspapers of Ireland steering committee, which was working to establish an independent Press Council. If the approach of the newspapers could be brought to an "acceptable fruition", he hoped to confer statutory recognition on such a council.
