Introduction
The Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman were founded in 2008 to safeguard and promote professional and ethical standards in Irish newspapers, magazines and online news publications.
The Press Council of Ireland is responsible for the oversight of the professional principles embodied in the code of Practice, and with upholding the freedom of the press. It operates with the support and cooperation of member publications and journalists. It decides on appeals from decisions of the Press Ombudsman and on complaint referred to it directly by the Press Ombudsman. It is independent of both government and the media.
The Council
There are 13 members of the Press Council, 7 of the members are public interest members appointed by public competition. The chair and deputy chair are public interest members. Five of the directors are nominees of the press industry, one is the nominee of the National Union of Journalists.
The Office of the Press Ombudsman
The Office of the Press Ombudsman receives complaints from members of the public and seeks to resolve them by conciliation or mediation to the satisfaction of everyone concerned. Where conciliation or mediation is not possible the Press Ombudsman will make a decision on the complaint based on the code of Practice. The Press Ombudsman is appointed by the Press Council following a public competition.
Member publications include all national newspapers (print and online), most local newspapers (print and online), many magazines and online-only news services.
Remit
The Office of the Press Ombudsman and the Press Council do not consider complaints about publications that are not members of the Press Council of Ireland, or complaints about broadcasting or advertising. The Press Council will consider complaints about the contents of social media if the subject matter of the complaint is posted on accounts of members. The Press Council does not consider complaints about User Generated Content.
