Fine Gael said this afternoon that while it supported the principal of a press council which was representative of the social partners, the public and the media, it was opposed to such a council being created by the Government.
In a speech to party activists ahead of the Ard Fheis in Galway this weekend, the Fine Gael party leader, Mr Enda Kenny, said a press ombudsman should be appointed who would be totally independent, but that the office should not be one appointed by Ministerial decree.
"The Press Council should set about developing appropriate codes of practice and should appoint a Press Ombudsman who would be totally independent, have full security of tenure and have a properly funded office with the remit of enforcing codes of practice developed by the Press Council," Mr Kenny said.
"While Fine Gael believes that the Ombudsman will need some statutory underpinning so that he can carry out his role effectively, Fine Gael does not support the concept of a Press Council statutorily appointed by the Minister."
He added that given the vital importance of a free press in a democratic society, great care and sensitivity should be exercised in relation to defining the rules governing this industry.
Mr Kenny also attacked the present Government for its "sinister" attacks on the media designed, he said, to inhibit the ability of the media to hold the Government to account for its management of the nation's affairs.
He said he was particularly concerned about "the savaging" of the Freedom of Information Act, "an unprecedented attack" by the Minister for Justice on the Information Commissioner, and additional restrictions on communications between the gardai and journalists.
"The threat of Press Council appointed by the Government is just the latest act of a Government that is determined to inhibit incisive, investigative work and comment," he said.
"Taken together, all of these assaults on the media and its ability to report and comment should be seen as a backdrop to the Minister for Justice's proposal to appoint a statutory Press Council to regulate the industry."