Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government promises a progressive law reform programme. I understand the Law Reform Commission is examining the questions of social media usage in court, contempt of court and so on. It seems publication of the report has been pre-empted by Chief Justice Clarke who has announced the banning of the sending of text messages from and social media usage in court by all, other than so-called bona fide journalists. It is extremely worrying and represents a restriction in the administration of justice in public and of the right to freedom of speech by giving a monopoly to report from court to bona fide journalists. It seems to indicate that more attention is being paid to preventing the public from seeing what is going on in court than to the actual problem displayed in, for example, the Jobstown trial, with co-ordinated perjury by numerous gardaí.

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