The National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI) has announced it is prepared to establish a press ombudsman and press council, but wants statutory privilege to be granted to both offices.
The organisation said it remained opposed to the Government appointing members of a press council and this council then drawing up a code of standards. Instead, the NNI said it wanted bodies independent of the Government, but these bodies would need the protection of the law in order to carry out their functions.
The NNI said the two bodies "must be acknowledged in law to enable them to carry out their functions".
A similar point was made in the 1996 Report of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry which was chaired by Mr Justice Tom Finlay. It said that if an ombudsman was appointed "such a person should in respect of statements made in the course of their duties as such an ombudsman, be granted immunity from action by way of statutory privilege".
The NNI policy was published yesterday. It follows a recent forum on press regulation and defamation attended by various newspaper representatives.
The new bodies would regulate press standards and deal with complaints from the public, the NNI said. However, the NNI made it clear the organisation was strongly opposed to proposals made by the Government's Legal Advisory Group on Defamation.
"The NNI believes that statutory press regulation is not in the public interest as it would significantly interfere with editorial independence, freedom of expression and the role of the press in a democracy. Furthermore, it would put Ireland out of line with the rest of Europe where press standards are not regulated by Government," the statement said.
The NNI said defamation would remain a legal issue and the press ombudsman and press council would be dealing instead with press standards.
Within the proposed NNI system, newspaper editors would sign up to a code of standards. The press ombudsman and press council would ensure that newspapers complied with this code. They would also investigate alleged breaches of the code.
Under the proposals, citizens would have an opportunity to complain and seek redress without having to incur the huge costs associated with a High Court libel action.
The NNI said under the statutory model proposed in the report of the legal advisory group, the press council would consist entirely of Government appointees; would be responsible for drawing up a code of standards; would make all decisions on alleged breaches of that code; and would be able to invoke the powers of the Circuit Court to enforce those decisions.
"This is undemocratic and unacceptable, particularly as our newspapers are already subject to a highly restrictive range of laws."
The NNI said the changes suggested by the advisory group in the area of defamation were very welcome, but some concerns remained.
The NNI said it was urgently seeking the agreement of other press organisations, including the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), with a view to setting up a system of press regulation that was independent and credible.
The NUJ gave a guarded welcome last night to the NNI statement.
The union's Irish secretary, Mr Seamus Dooley, said he welcomed in principle the commitment of the NNI to the establishment of an independent regulatory system which would involve an ombudsman and a press council. He said the NUJ wanted outside involvement through the participation of representatives of civic society and statutory bodies.