High Court clarification - Primacy of the Dáil is reaffirmed

YESTERDAY’S High Court clarification on the principle that the media can report Oireachtas proceedings in full and enjoy the protection Dáil privilege confers is very welcome on a number of levels. 

It was an essential reaffirmation of the hierarchy of rights that define how we conduct our public affairs. It also reaffirms this society’s as yet unrealised ambitions around putting transparency and accountability at the very centre of public life.

Any other ruling would have provoked an unprecedented challenge to how our openly elected public representatives are allowed discharge their duties and their obligations.