McDowell to push on with press council plan

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell insisted yesterday that he is pressing ahead with his plans to establish a body to deal with press complaints following controversy over media intrusion into the private lives of public figures.

He told the Cabinet yesterday that he plans to bring forward proposals for the press council very shortly.

The minister has previously indicated that the council would allow disputes over libel claims to be resolved without resort to the courts and that he also intends to amend the libel laws to allow newspapers to publish apologies without them being regarded as an admission of liability.

Last night, the minister's spokesperson said he will be meeting with his officials and interested parties in the coming days.

"The minister hopes to be in a position shortly to bring proposals to Government providing for a reform of the law on defamation, which would include provision for a press council.

"He has indicated on a number of occasions that his preferred approach is to provide for statutory recognition of an independent council," he said.

As the debate on privacy and media intrusion continued on the national airwaves for a second day yesterday, National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Irish secretary Seamus Dooley said it was now urgent that the long-awaited complaints mechanism be established.

"The industry have submitted plans for a press council, an ombudsman and a code of conduct, and the next step is for the minister to give his input," Mr Dooley said.

"It would be better to have a debate framed by solid proposals rather than what is happening now having a debate on individual instances where people feel aggrieved."

The latest controversy over the behaviour of some newspapers was sparked by criticisms by Environment Minister Martin Cullen of probes into his personal life before Christmas.

The row was fired further in recent days by complaints from RTÉ's Charlie Bird, Kilkenny hurler DJ Carey and Mairéad McFadden, mother of former Westlife star, Brian McFadden.

Solicitor James McGuill, who acts for murderer Malcolm MacArthur, yesterday joined in the debate, criticising a Sunday newspaper article that revealed the identity of the prisoner's son, who was only seven when his father was jailed 22 years ago.

Earlier in the day, the Gerry Ryan radio show heard from the brother of a seriously injured man photographed while trapped in his car after a horrific crash last Friday.

"My brother was anointed and was expected to die in that car. They photographed a dying man and then put one of those photographs on the front page. How could they be so insensitive?" he asked.

One commentator said the proposals from the newspaper industry to force the publication of apologies, retractions or rights of reply, would not go far enough.

Patrick Kinsella of the School of Communications at Dublin City University said that heavy financial penalties may be the only way of changing publishers' behaviour.