THE DEFAMATION Act will come into operation on January 1st, following the Minister for Justice signing the commencement order this week. Yesterday, the Press Council announced that it was applying for recognition under the Act.
Announcing his signature of the commencement order, Dermot Ahern said the next step was that the Press Council of Ireland, established by the press industry in January 2008, may seek recognition as the press council provided for under the Act. “Such recognition, which is subject to approval by a resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas will confer certain benefits on the council,” he said.
Yesterday the chairman of the Press Council, Prof Thomas Mitchell, said the Press Council of Ireland would apply for recognition under the new Act.
The Defamation Act allows more speedy redress to plaintiffs; the option of a speedy apology if a person feels wrong and defamatory material is published; new forms of remedy, including access to a press council which receives recognition in the Act; less complicated court procedures and new defences for a media organisation accused of defamation.
If a person feels their reputation has been unfairly attacked or they have otherwise been badly treated by a media organisation, they can now seek an apology from the organisation concerned and it can publish it without being regarded as admitting liability.
Alternatively, a complaint about how a media organisation has behaved, including a failure to uphold a person’s right to his or her good name, can be brought to the Press Council.
Prof John Horgan was appointed as Press Ombudsman in August 2007 and the Press Council formally began work in January 2008. Both bodies are supported by the press industry, but are independent, with the council containing a majority of members from outside the media.
Prof Mitchell welcomed the decision of the Minister for Justice to sign the commencement order as “an important step forward for the freedom of the press and for the new system of press regulation in Ireland.
“The Press Council of Ireland will be applying immediately after the commencement date of January 1st, 2010, for formal recognition under the new Act, and is confident that it can comply fully with the requirements for recognition provided for in the Act,” he said.
“Since their establishment over two years ago, the council and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, which is an integral part of the structure, have charted new territory in devising and implementing a system of accountability for the press in Ireland.”
He said that the council and its members, the majority of whom represent the public interest, believed that these structures had already demonstrated their value.
“The council believes that what has already been achieved owes a great deal to the positive and constructive role of the press industry itself, whose co-operation with, and support for, an independent regulatory structure is a vital ingredient of this important initiative,” he said.