The Irish press industry has put forward proposals to the Government for the establishment of an independent press complaints mechanism, along with a new code of conduct for newspapers and magazines.
Under the proposals, which were made yesterday at a meeting between industry representatives and the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, the industry will fund the establishment of an independent Press Ombudsman and Press Council.
The Press Ombudsman will receive and consider individual complaints, and if a resolution regarding the complaint cannot be reached will adjudicate on the issue.
A nine-person Press Council will act as an overall regulatory body for the complaints mechanism, and will have the power to act as an appeals or review board in relation to specific complaints.
The proposals were drawn up by a steering committee for the press industry which includes representatives from all sectors of the magazine and newspaper industry, including management, editors and journalists.
The proposals are based on a model originally pioneered in Sweden, and based on "best international practice", according to the steering committee.
An independent chairman, Prof Thomas N Mitchell, the former provost of Trinity College Dublin, is heading up the committee.
Following the meeting, which he described as "very useful", Prof Mitchell said the model "is for a system that is independent of both government and media.
"This model will safeguard the freedom of the press to inform, while protecting the constitutional right of every citizen to his or her good name."
The proposals from the industry follow its rejection of the establishment of a statutory press council, which was recommended by the Government-established Legal Advisory Group on Defamation in a report to Mr McDowell last year.
In his foreword to yesterday's proposals, Prof Mitchell said that since "the press is frequently and properly the critic of government, it must not be under obligation to the State or subject to any form of State control, direct or indirect, that would limit or have a chilling effect on its function to investigate and report the truth without fear or favour".
A spokesman for Mr McDowell described the meeting as "very constructive".
"The Minister was very thankful to the group for the work it has carried out.
"He will be studying the proposals carefully, and he will be bringing a set of recommendations to Government in the autumn."
The proposed Press Council and Ombudsman will adjudicate on complaints based on a code of practice which newspapers and magazine editors will commit to.
The code of practice is currently being drafted by industry representatives for the steering committee.
The council, which will appoint the ombudsman - a full-time position - will itself be appointed by the chairman of the council in conjunction with the independent chairman of the press industry steering committee.
Members of the steering committee who attended yesterday's meeting with Mr McDowell included the chairman, Prof Mitchell; Mr Frank Cullen, director of the National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI); Ms Geraldine Kennedy, editor of The Irish Times and NNI's editors' representative; Mr Ger Walsh, representing publishers in the Regional Newspapers Association of Ireland (RNAI); Ms Rosemary Delaney, of the Periodical Publishers Association; Ms Alison Clark and Mr Charles Collier-Wright, representing UK-based newspapers with Irish editions; and Mr Séamus Dooley, of the National Union of Journalists.