Press Releases

The creation of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman is a development that has, it is true, been some time in coming. And its arrival has not been without controversy. The pressing need to reform our laws on defamation was indeed one of the driving forces behind the initiative taken by the print media generally, almost five years ago now, to explore the possibility of setting up a new regulatory system for themselves. That reform is now in train and, although it has not been finalised, it promises to make some significant changes in our libel laws for the first time in almost half a century. This is no small achievement, and both the present Minister for Justice and his immediate predecessor are entitled to credit for it.

Extract from remarks by Professor John Horgan, Press Ombudsman, at a debate organized by the Law Society and the Journalism Society, University College, Cork Wednesday, 6 February 2008, 8 pm

Members of the Press Council, Press Ombudsman, Ladies and Gentlemen,

New independent regulator to resolve press complaints and maintain high journalistic standards

It is my pleasure to welcome you to this special occasion to mark the commencement during the past week of the full operation of the Press Council and Office of Press Ombudsman.

I am grateful to the NUJ for affording me this opportunity to address you. It is entirely coincidental that one of the major controversies of the past few weeks has been about the media and about coverage by the media of criminal proceedings - a topic I will turn to shortly - but it is probably also true to say that there is, generally, a heightened consciousness of the role of the media in society today, and a greater willingness to explore issues of media coverage in a reflective and positive manner.

Prof. John Horgan confirmed as Ireland’s first Press Ombudsman The newly-established Press Council of Ireland has announced that Professor John Horgan, a prominent author and academic whose background is in journalism and politics, has been appointed as Ireland’s inaugural Press Ombudsman.

Newly-established group combines “talent, diversity, achievement, standing and experience”

Former TCD Provost to chair new Press Council