Paper cited for ‘Irish sex-disease’ story

The Press Council of New Zealand has upheld complaints made against a newspaper article which linked the spread of sexually transmitted infections in Christchurch to Irish builders.

The article in The Weekend Press ran in October under the headline ‘Luck of the Irish has downside in sex-disease stats’.

The piece stated: “Irish workers helping with the rebuild are sharing the love but it seems they may also be helping to spread sexual disease,” and an accompanying illustration showed two men in green coats heading into a doorway signposted as an STD clinic. That was a reference to a reported increase in the number of Irish nationals making appointments for tests and treatment amid a rising number in Christchurch of confirmed chlamydia cases.