The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform's enthusiasm for a full-blooded, Government-controlled, Press Council is evaporating. He has, more or less, said so.
Mr Michael McDowell gave the strongest signal that he is not wedded to the concept of a statutory, Government-appointed Press Council at a consultative conference involving representatives of media interests, lawyers and academics to consider the Report of the Legal Advisory Group on Defamation last week. The particular model proposed by the advisory group, he stated, was "by no means the only, or, for that matter, the most obvious model for a statutory Press Council".
So the debate on the desirability of establishing a Press Council to regulate standards in the print media and deal with complaints from citizens has moved forward. It would be a mistake, however, to believe that the Minister has withdrawn the proposal. Like it or not, his commitment to a statutory Press Council goes hand-in-hand with any proposed changes in the defamation law. There will be no modernisation of the law on libel unless the establishment of a Press Council can be put before his Cabinet colleagues as a quid pro quo early next year.
So what now when the Minister has suggested that the term "statutory" does not necessarily mean a Press Council of the nature and composition envisaged in the advisory group's report? The National Newspapers of Ireland, the representative body for the proprietors and editors of daily and Sunday newspapers, and the National Union of Journalists, the professional body for journalists, have reached a consensus, in principle, that a system of self-regulation and independent adjudication should be set up to see off the heavy hand of Government control. Both bodies have acknowledged that the existence of a Press Ombudsman and/or Press Council would have to be anchored in law to give them immunity from action by way of statutory privilege. The NNI and NUJ and other important constituents of the media industry are proceeding to establish a steering group to prepare a code of practice for working journalists in the near future.
There is a short window of opportunity for the press to finalise its proposals for the independent regulation of the media. We are talking here, Mr McDowell said last week, about the very essence of democracy - the right to freely communicate facts, opinions and comment. It behoves the media to respond with credible proposals which will earn the confidence of the ordinary reader. And that may mean negotiating with the Government at the appropriate time.