The Minister for Justice is planning to bring draft legislation setting up an independent press council to the Cabinet within four weeks amid growing concern over the behaviour of some newspapers.
Mr McDowell's legislation will give statutory powers to a press council, allowing it to sanction publications that breach guidelines concerning privacy and other issues. While backed by statutory powers, the press council will be independent and not appointed by the Government. Once the draft legislation is presented to the Government, the proposals will be discussed further between Ministers and with broadcasters and the newspaper industry. A spokeswoman for the Minister said yesterday that the timing of the final approval of legislation and its passage through the Oireachtas depended on how these consultations progressed.
Having initially floated the idea of a Government appointed press council, Mr McDowell indicated last year that he favoured an independent council. He has said it should be broadly representative of society and not a media "old boys club", and that it needed enough power to make it effective both at imposing sanctions on bad behaviour by the press, and deterring such behaviour.
Mr McDowell's proposals preceded recent controversies over the invasion of the privacy of politicians, pop singers and journalists by some tabloid newspapers.