731/2021 - Mr Tony Sugrue and Kerry’s Eye

The editor of Kerry’s Eye  appealed the decision of the Press Ombudsman to the Press Council of Ireland on the grounds that (a) the procedures followed in making the decision were not in accordance with the published procedures for submitting and considering complaints and (b) that there had been an error in the application of the Code of Practice by the Press Ombudsman.

Decision of the Press Council on appeal.

The Press Council considered the appeal at its meeting on Friday, 5 March 2021, and decided to uphold the appeal.   The Council upheld the appeal on the grounds that the Press Ombudsman had failed to demonstrate any consideration of the public interest threshold put forward by the newspaper in its defence of its publication of the information complained about, and that  publication of the information was consistent with Principle 5.2 and Principle 5.4 of the Code of Practice.

5 March 2021