A proposal to set up a Government-appointed press council is expected to be strongly criticised today by some media organisations at a Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform conference.
Major reforms of defamation laws were proposed by the Government-appointed Legal Advisory Group on Defamation, chaired by Mr Hugh Mohan SC earlier this year.
The group also recommended that the media should be able to fend off libel claims if they could proved that publication was in the public interest, while judges should also be able to offer juries directions on the size of awards.
The Legal Advisory Group recommended that the press council should have a statutory foundation, prepare a press code of conduct and subsequently investigate alleged breaches.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has already expressed support for such a body, arguing that it is not credible for media organisations to argue that the industry should be self-regulating when it demanded independent regulation of others.
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr McDowell, will open the conference, which is being held in University College Dublin, as part of the Department's consultations on the issue.
There are signals that a compromise could emerge to end the row, following the decision by the National Newspapers of Ireland to set up a group to draw up proposals.
Mr Mohan is likely to emphasise the other elements in the report, which have been overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the press council.
Representatives from the National Newspapers of Ireland, Mr Séamus Dooley of the National Union of Journalists, and Independent News and Media director Senator Maurice Hayes, will also address the conference.
Mr Dooley last night said the NUJ favoured State-funded "co-regulation", where the members of the press council would be drawn from the industry and representatives "from public interest groups and civic society".
