The National Union of Journalists, (NUJ), today broadly welcomed the announcement yesterday by the Minister for Justice to amend controversial legislation which required ministerial consent before identifying asylum-seekers in the media.
"We welcome the decision to get rid of the need for ministerial permission to identify refugees and believe that Mr O'Donoghue should implement this change immediately," Mr Seamus Dooley spokesperson for the NUJ said.
Until now, under the provisions of the Refugee Act 1996, the identification of asylum-seekers on television, radio or in newspapers was restricted by the Department of Justice, through which written permission had to be attained in order to publish the information. That provision has now been removed.
Contravention of the legislation meant media were liable for fines of up to £1,500 or a maximum of 12 months in prison.
Mr Dooley said that any amendment to Section 19 must go much further and must contain a positive expression of the rights of asylum-seekers to freedom of expression and freedom of association. "Restrictions governing freedom of expression in relation to refugees have no place in the act," he added.
The legislation was also condemned by the Irish Refugee Council (IRC) as potential censorship. Speaking to ireland.comyesterday Ms Sarah MacNiece, spokesperson for the IRC said the Council welcomed the amendment saying the legislation was "draconian in that it removed from the asylum-seeker the basic right to freedom of expression".
She said the Council regretted the legislation had ever been put in place, but added it was "not in the least surprising that the Government has recognised its mistake".