LATEST NEWS & PRESS RELEASES

Lyra McKee Investigative Journalism Bursary 2025
Applications are now open for the Lyra McKee Bursary Scheme 2025 The Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman is pleased to provide funding for one or two aspiring journalists from Ireland to take part in the Centre for Investigative Journalism's...

Award of 2025 Press Council Fellowship
The Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman has awarded its 2025 fellowship to Maeve McTaggart, a 26 year old Cork born journalist with the Irish Independent, for a news report on “How fraudsters are using fake ‘missing persons’ social media posts...

Lord David Puttnam “If we don’t get a grip on the social media giants, we are lost”
Speaking at the launch of the 2023 Annual Report of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, Lord David Puttnam warned about the growing power of the large social media platforms, and the absence of regulation in this country. “What we are...

Press Ombudsperson Speech for the 2023 Annual Report Launch – 25 October 2024
Press Council Annual Report 2023 It is very easy to succumb to gloom when speaking about the future of the press. Revenues falling, the young turning for news to largely unregulated and demonstrably irresponsible social media platforms, journalists losing their jobs,...

Press Council Journalism Fellowship
Press Council of Ireland Launches 2024 Fellowship for Early-Career Journalists The Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman are happy to announce the 2024 Press Council Fellowship, aimed at supporting early-career journalists committed to...

Address by Chair of the Press Council at the launch of the 2022 Annual Report of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman
Welcome to all, especially Deputy Smyth. We look forward to hearing from her very shortly. Thank my fellow directors, including Vice-Chair Maeve Conrick. Ruth Barrington and Patricia O’Donovan retired in 2022 and were replaced by Alan Dukes and James Doorley. They...

Press Council of Ireland Welcomes Publication of Defamation Legislation
The Press Council of Ireland has welcomed yesterday’s Government decision to publish the Defamation (Amendment) Bill. The Press Council Chairperson, Rory Montgomery, congratulated the Minister for Justice and her Department on this very important step. Mr Montgomery...

Address by Press Ombudsperson Susan McKay to the Annual Conference of the Ombudsman Association, Bristol 12 June 2024
Journalistic ethics, the Press Ombudsman and working with vulnerable people. 1. "As Ireland's Press Ombudsperson, my role is to make decisions on complaints from members of thepublic about articles published in Irish newspapers, magazines and online publications or...

Statement from the Press Ombudsman, Susan McKay, to celebrate World Press Freedom Day
On World Press Freedom Day I urge the Government to listen to urgent calls from members of the Press Council and ensure that the long-awaited Defamation Bill is included in the current legislative programme. The existing law has a chilling effect on the ability of...

Press Council and Office of the Press Ombudsman welcome Taoiseach’s support
The Press Ombudsman has made the following statement welcoming the Taoiseach's support for the use of her office by those seeking redress if they believe they have been wronged as a result of press coverage. “The Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press...

Launch of 2022 Annual Report of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman
The Chair of the Press Council of Ireland, Rory Montgomery, will today (Wednesday, 4 October) say at the launch of the 2022 Annual Report of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman that “dramatic events at RTE over the summer have brought the...

Address by Press Ombudsman at the launch of the 2022 Annual Report of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman
Hard times have become normal times for the press in Ireland. But there is no greater threat to the freedom of the press than the intimidation of journalists, and there is no greater threat to the truth the press exists to tell than the spreading of disinformation,...