The umbrella body for Ireland's national newspaper industry, the National Newspapers of Ireland, has pledged financial support for the establishment of an industry Ombudsman in return for reform of the libel laws.
The National Union of Journalists and the proprietors' bodies, the NNI and the Regional Newspaper Association of Ireland, launched a joint appeal for reform of libel laws to mark World Press Freedom Day.
In a joint statement the chairman of the NNI and chief executive and group managing director of the Irish Times Ltd, Mr Louis O'Neill, said: "The current state of the law dictates that the only course open to persons who feel aggrieved by a published article is legal action.
"An individual may be happy to receive an apology but media organisations cannot publicly apologise without an admission of liability. Thus the case must go to court and can take up to three years before it will be heard. Evidently this is not in the public's interest," he said.
The statement, signed by all three organisations, said libel laws were weighted against the media and verdicts were extremely unpredictable. "The popular notion that the press only gets sued when it gets things wrong is far from the truth. It is possible to expose a grave wrong and still lose extraordinary sums in damages. In addition, the Irish media often suffer undeservedly in terms of public opinion for the sins of their British and American counterparts. This can result in juries setting astronomical penalties."
The director of the NNI, Mr Frank Cullen, said recognising the need for an independent complaints mechanism, NNI had agreed to finance the appointment of an independent Ombudsman to investigate complaints of breaches of press standards.
Mr Seamus Dooley, of the NUJ, said if we wished to avoid another generation of tribunals into official corruption, reporters must be allowed to do their job without fear of swingeing and unmerited financial penalties.
The organisations have sought a meeting with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, to discuss the implications of the current defamation law. The Law Reform Commission recommended reform in 1991.
Successive governments, however, have been reluctant to consider reform in this area.