Complaint by Geraghty is upheld

THE PRESS Ombudsman has upheld a complaint by former union leader Des Geraghty against the Sunday Independent over an article which he claimed was inaccurate and a breach of his privacy.

An article that appeared on November 8th under the headline “Geraghty’s des res and the house Jack ‘built’ ” focused on the homes and salaries of union leaders. This followed a controversial proposal by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions that tax should be applied to so-called “trophy homes”. The article in question provided details of what it claimed to be Mr Geraghty’s private home in Dublin.

Mr Geraghty complained that he did not own the property and there was no public interest in the publication of personal details about him in the context of an article on current trade union leaders. Mr Geraghty retired from Siptu in 2003.

The newspaper offered to publish a clarification containing his rebuttal of the statements about his ownership of the property and that he had retired from Siptu six years previously. It also offered to express its regret for any distress caused. Mr Geraghty subsequently rejected the offer to publish a “clarification” as inadequate.

The Press Ombudsman ruled that a clarification was an inadequate response to a complaint about the prominent publication of a significant factual error.