Media groups have hailed a decision by the European Court of Human Rights which upheld an appeal by Independent Newspapers regarding a record €1.25m libel payout.

The Court of Appeal has ruled the “interests of justice” warrant the dismissal of libel proceedings by communications consultant Monica Leech over an article published in the Sunday Independent 12 years ago.

Ireland continues to have one of the most repressive defamation regimes worldwide according to NewsBrands, the representative body for the national newspaper industry.

A NEWSPAPER asserting its human rights is, well, news. 

The Sunday World has urged the Court of Appeal to overturn a €900,000 damages award made to a man after a jury found he was libelled in an article describing him as a “Traveller drug king”.

The Supreme Court has reduced a €1.87m libel award to communications consultant Monica Leech to €1.25m.

Communications consultant Monica Leech has agreed to pay fees due to lawyers who brought libel actions on her behalf, after a judge was told there had been a breakdown in the relationship between her and her legal team over the fees and advice.

The High Court has heard that Public Relations consultant Monica Leech's relationship with her solicitors broke down in the wake of her €1.87m libel pay out from the Evening Herald.

ROSANNA DAVISON’S opinions are much valued in the media. Frequently, reporters ring the former Miss World seeking the benefit of her wisdom. When Michael Jackson died, she got calls asking her what she thought about it, how keenly she felt the loss.

In court, a bruised ego is more valuable than a broken back, writes Dan Buckley

ACHIEVING business growth is the theme of the South East Women in Business Conference in the Tower Hotel in Waterford on September 17.

SPORTS Minister Martin Cullen said a combination of a chronic back condition and debilitating painkillers made it impossible for him to continue as a minister, or even as a TD.

MARTIN CULLEN will never be described as a much-loved politician.

TWO decades ago billionaire New York hotel operator Leona Helmsley coined a phrase that has outlived her.

ARTS Minister Martin Cullen said he chose his words carefully when likening media intrusion into his life to male rape.

It has emerged that minister Martin Cullen has likened media intrusion to "being raped".

ARTS Minister Martin Cullen said he felt like he was “being raped” by the media intrusion into his life over unfounded allegations that he had an affair with his former PR consultant, Monica Leech.

MARTIN CULLEN has told how political colleagues – with the exception of Mary Harney and Bertie Ahern – largely avoided him when the media coverage about the Monica Leech issue was at its height.

Apparently, we are going to start with a current market value and then add on an expectant premium to reflect future prospects. That may sound plausible, but it’s fiction. Nobody knows what future property prices will be, when they might recover and to what extent

The Supreme Court has ruled that Independent Newspapers must give Monica Leech €750,000 of her libel award, pending the company's appeal.

JUDGES will be able to advise juries on the size of damages for libel by the end of next month, it was confirmed last night.

Former Government PR consultant Monica Leech tonight won a lawsuit against the Evening Herald which defamed her in its coverage of her work as special adviser to former Environment Minister Martin Cullen.

FORMER government communications consultant Monica Leech has secured an apology and a final settlement figure believed to be in the region of €125,000 including costs as part of a libel action settlement against Associated Newspapers — publishers of the Irish Mail on Sunday and the Daily Mail.

THE iconic Waterford Crystal brand which once employed more than 3,000 people in the southeast will soon have just 200 people left in Waterford city following the latest round of job cuts announced yesterday.

WATERFORD Institute of Technology is gearing up for next week’s world-class business and education conference which will feature representatives from 20 countries and guest lecturers from Malaysia and the US.

RESIDENTS of the southeast are earning less, and have less disposable income, than the national average due to poor economic performance in recent years, a study has revealed.

There is a palpable sense of public outrage over the Beverley Flynn settlement.

A HIGH Court judge has set out a more liberal interpretation of the law in relation to the circumstances in which the media may defend the publication of certain material, even if that material is incorrect, on grounds that publication was in the public interest.

A DECISION on Waterford Institute of Technology’s application for university status is expected shortly.

Radio presenter Ray D’Arcy has been criticised for a lack of taste and decency after hosting a sexually explicit show comparing sex toys.

The libel action by former government advisor Monica Leech against RTÉ has been settled at the High Court.

WATERFORD is bracing itself for an influx of 50,000 plus extra visitors over the busy Christmas shopping season with plans for its ‘Waterford on Ice’ festival stepping up a gear.

FIFTEEN stops in seventeen minutes between Stephen’s Green and Dublin Airport?

WATERFORD’S leading business people hope to pick up a few tips from an Olympic coach and some of the country’s leading entrepreneurs tomorrow as a major retail conference gets under way.

IT may be just mid-September, but business leaders in Waterford are already planning a Winter wonderland in the heart of the booming city at Christmas.

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell will present fresh proposals for legislation protecting privacy to Cabinet colleagues tomorrow in an effort to smooth the passage of his libel law reforms.

AN ADDITIONAL 736 jobs could be created in Waterford and the south-east if Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) were upgraded to a university, the local Chamber of Commerce says.

TOUGH new privacy laws to shield politicians and other household names , even when they are in some public places, are likely to secure Cabinet approval by Easter, Justice Minister Micheal McDowell yesterday signalled.

PUBLIC relations consultant and former public relations adviser to the Government Monica Leech was last night approved as chief executive officer of Waterford Chamber of Commerce by a chamber sub-committee.

Local councillors should come under the remit of the Standards in Public Office Commission watchdog, it was claimed today.

THE decision of the State ethics watchdog not to investigate Martin Cullen's appointment of Monica Leech as a PR consultant has prompted calls for additional powers to be granted to the body.

THE Government is on the verge of giving the go-ahead for a second terminal at Dublin Airport, Transport Minister Martin Cullen has indicated.

The Cabinet has approved tighter controls on the awarding of department contracts and will unveil them soon, it was claimed tonight.