Plans for an independent press ombudsman and a press council which would investigate complaints from the public and oversee a new code of conduct for newspapers were published today.
The plans - drawn up by newspaper industry representatives - have been approved by the Minister for Justice Michael McDowell and will be recognised under new defamation legislation, which is currently before the Seanad.
Under the proposals, the council will operate on a non-Statutory basis - independent of Government and the media - but it will not have the power to impose financial sanctions.
However, its decisions may be taken into consideration by a court in any future legal proceeding.
The council will be composed of 13 members, seven of whom will be independent public figures.
It will appoint a press ombudsman to act as "the public face of press regulation" and to investigate complaints from the public and decide on their validity.
The cost of making a complaint will be free but may take up to six weeks if a valid breach of the code of practice requires a full investigation.
The council will also act as an appeals body for ombudsman decisions.
Publications that sign up to the council will be required to adhere to a code of practice covering areas such as privacy, accuracy and respect for the rights of individuals.
The code specifies that the "private and family life, home and correspondence of an individual must be respected".
But it insists that the right to privacy should not prevent publication of matters of public record or in the public interest.
The code proposes that taking photographs of individuals in private places without their consent is not acceptable, unless justified in the public interest.
"Comment, conjecture or rumour and unconfirmed reports should not be reported as if they were fact," it says, "but newspapers are entitled to advocate strongly their own views on topics".
Newspapers should strive at all times for fairness and honesty in procuring and publishing news and information. Journalists and editors, its says, should have regard for the vulnerability of children.
The Irish Timeseditor Geraldine Kennedy said the principles - while initially broad - would be reviewed "on the basis of case law".
Mr McDowell said the proposed council was designed to be independent of the government of the day and of media interests.
He was it was important tool in "underpinning of fairness" in the media.
He said the proposals represented a "middle way" between a statutory body and the international mode of the press council.
