913/2021 - Mr Ken Byrne and the Irish Examiner

Mr Byrne appealed the decision of the Press Ombudsman to the Press Council of Ireland on the grounds that significant new information was available that could not have been made available to the Press Ombudsman before he made his decision.

In his appeal Mr Byrne submitted links to a number of media reports from early June 2021 that he said reported on what was then believed to be Ireland’s first case of a Covid reinfected person.  He also submitted links to a number of media reports on Covid reinfection.

Decision of Press Council on appeal

The Press Council considered the appeal at its meeting on Friday, 1 October 2021 and decided to reject it on the grounds that no significant new information was provided that could not have been made available to the Press Ombudsman before he made his decision.

In coming to its decision the Council noted that the Irish Examiner had published verifiable statistical data provided by a Government Department and that to question the validity of reporting such data could undermine the public interest role of the press as set out in the Code of Practice of the Press Council of Ireland.