The wording of the constitutional referendum on Cabinet responsibility is "totally inadequate," according to the cathaoirleach of the Irish section of the National Union of Journalists, Ms Eileen Brophy.
If the proposed amendment was passed it would "only slightly lift the veil of secrecy on the way in which decisions are made," she said. "Once again we have an Irish solution, indeed half a solution, to a very Irish notion that the elected government of the country is entitled to govern in secret, and that too much information is bad for the electorate."
She was speaking at the opening session of the Irish delegate conference of the National Union of Journalists last night. She called on the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, to consider a more wide-ranging amendment.
The union's Irish secretary, Mr Eoin Ronayne, said politicians and employers had failed to honour promises made in the wake of the murder of Veronica Guerin in 1996. Ms Guerin had paid the ultimate price in her pursuit of truth, but politicians had still not reformed the defamation laws.
He also said employers had not provided adequate insurance cover for freelances, or proper resources and protection for investigative journalists, as promised.
It was a disgrace that some union members were being paid wages that would compare badly with rates in fast-food outlets.
Rates in the independent broadcasting section were particularly bad. Some young journalists were earning as little as £3.40p an hour for a 55-hour week.
These same employers were forcing people to sign away their legal rights by accepting sole-trader, self-employed or independent-contractor agreements.
Even RTE was adopting a policy of contract working, Mr Ronayne said. He warned that members would consider industrial action this winter if RTE did not reconsider its position.
He suggested that the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social Welfare systematically investigate the independent broadcasting sector, and "move in and clean up these greedy employers". The Irish Congress of Trade Unions should withdraw from national agreements if employers refused to recognise the right of workers to join unions.