Press ombudsman – Appointment welcome and long overdue

YESTERDAY’S announcement of the appointment of Professor John Horgan as Ireland’s first press ombudsman is a welcome milestone in the relationship between the press and the people of Ireland.

For decades it was a relationship fraught with mistrust and occasionally manipulated by vested interests, but this appointment is the all but final piece in the jigsaw needed to establish a relationship of equals between the newspapers published in Ireland and their readers.

If a person now feels aggrieved, that person can seek immediate and free redress through the ombudsman, irrespective of their ability to fund what has often been frighteningly expensive court actions.

All that remains to be done is for Justice Minister Brian Lenihan to facilitate the completion of the process initiated by his predecessor Michael McDowell and get the new Defamation Bill, which has been introduced to the Seanad, made law.

The new minister may wish to put his own stamp on the process but nonetheless it is a piece of valuable legislation and will enhance the way in which the press interacts with the public and the State.

Mr Horgan will be a popular appointment, as his background in politics, the press and academia is impressive. He began his career with the Irish Press in the early 1960s and he has been involved in politics, sitting in the Dáil, Seanad and the European Parliament as a member of the Labour Party.

He has been involved with Dublin City University’s journalism and media school for more than two decades since the early 1980s.

Welcoming Mr Horgan’s appointment, the National Newspapers of Ireland said: “The appointment finally gives the public the opportunity to complain about a newspaper or magazine without having to go to court.

“The financial risk attached to pursuing legal action meant that many people have been reluctant to make a complaint against the press, even when they were genuinely aggrieved. Happily, that is no longer the case.”

In a society that values clarity, access to information and the right of an individual to protect their good name, this office will assume a vital and central role.

It is a safeguard for truth and a shield for individuals. It is welcome and long overdue.