Mr John Waters has been reinstated as an Irish Timescolumnist, it was announced today.
The move follows a meeting between Mr Waters and Irish TimesEditor, Ms Geraldine Kennedy this morning.
Ms Kennedy had informed Mr Waters of his dismissal on Saturday, saying his services were no longer required because he had challenged her "journalistic ethics".
At today's meeting there was a "frank exchange of views" arising from Mr Waters's public comments during an interview on RTÉ Radio 1 news last week, according to a statement released by the NUJ and The Irish Timesthis afternoon.
Mr Waters regretted that the use by him of the word "compromised" in the interview had been taken to apply to the personal or professional integrity of the editor. He said that was not his intention.
Mr Waters acknowledged that Ms Kennedy had always exercised her role as editor in an appropriate manner in accordance with the laws of libel and the requirement to adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and good taste. He accepted that the editor had applied these criteria to the column submitted by him for publication on November 10th.
Ms Kennedy stated that her differences with Mr Waters did not arise from his decision to comment publicly on her editorial judgement but from his comments in the RTÉ interview.
Today's meeting was also attended by
Irish TimesDeputy Editor, Mr Paul O'Neill and Mr Seamus Dooley, Irish Secretary, National Union of Journalists.