Government should now reflect on an independent review of IBRC deals

Successive governements have shown themseleves indifferent, if not hostile, to the difficulties faced by the media in fulfulling its role as the fouth estate. So caution was understandable surrounding the reporting of Denis O’Brien’s banking arrangements, writes Michael Clifford.

CONSTITUTIONAL crisis, what constitutional crisis?

Yesterday’s High Court ruling on the right of the media to report utterances made under Dáil privilege brought the shutters down on five days of hyperbole. We had been repeatedly told a constitutional crisis was nigh because of the mainstream media’s failure to report Catherine Murphy’s Dáil speech concerning Denis O’Brien’s banking arrangements, on the basis the material may be covered by an injunction granted to Mr O’Brien 10 days ago.