674/2021 - Paul Murphy TD and The Irish Times

Deputy Murphy appealed the decision of the Press Ombudsman on the grounds that there had been an error in the Press Ombudsman’s application of the Code of Practice

Decision of Press Council on appeal.

The Press Council considered the appeal at its meeting on Friday, 5 March 2021, and decided to reject the appeal.  In rejecting the appeal the Council decided that the Press Ombudsman had not erred in his application of the Code of Practice because it agreed that the offer by the newspaper to publish a clarification was a sufficient offer to resolve the complaint.  It also  agreed with the Press Ombudsman’s conclusion that the article did not breach Principle 2 of the Code for the reasons outlined in his decision.