The first Press Ombudsman was
appointed yesterday and should be able to take complaints about the print media
in Ireland from November.

Members of the public with still be asked to contact newspapers or
magazines first. If unsatisfied, the next step will be to contact the Office of the Press
Ombudsman, only major complaints or complaints unsatisfied at ombudsmen
level will be passed on to the Press Council of Ireland.

The ombudsman will have no powers to fine newspapers only to make them publish
his decision.

The new ombudsman, Dr John Horgan, called for the Defamation Bill to be
reintroduced as soon as possible. Horgan was
professor of journalism at Dublin City University before resigning last
year. He is also a former Labour TD, Senator, and a MEP.

He had previously worked at the Evening Press, the Catholic Herald in London,
and for the Irish Times where he reported on religion and education. Horgan also
was Editor of the Education Times, and has freelanced for the New York Review
of Books, the London Review of Books, the Guardian, and Le Monde diplomatique
among others.

"This means that Ireland finally has a complaints mechanism that
is free, easy to use, totally independent and available to every
citizen," said Prof Mitchell was quoted in today’s Irish Times. "Anyone who feels aggrieved by a
newspaper article or photograph can avail of this mechanism without
having to risk spending a fortune by going to court".