Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 12:

In page 9, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following:“(b) Not withstanding paragraph (a), bona fide representatives of the press shall be required to undergo an accreditation process to be provided for by the Minister by way of regulation.”.

We flagged our concern on the issue and the section with the Minister on Second Stage. We do not believe he has adequately addressed the concerns and therefore we have tabled the amendment. I put it to the Minister that the legislation is somewhat light on detail and in terms of safeguards. We believe there ought to be greater safeguards as to the reporters who would be permitted to attend such proceedings and the manner in which they would be able to report. While the safeguards in sections 5 and 8 are welcome and comprehensive, I note that the meaning of "bona fide representatives of the press" is not defined in the Bill nor does the Bill set out the terms under which a member of the press may attend a family or child care case. The term “bona fide” should have a clear basis. We must be sure that those attending the hearings are sensible members of the press who will take a considered and reasonable approach to the cases and that they would be sensitive to the importance of protecting the people involved and their identities, in particular where it applies to children.

I note that the concern is shared by the children's body, Barnardos. I received a submission from it to that effect.

Barnardos is anxious that permitting multiple journalists access to the court hearing will increase the chance of the child and their family being identified by themselves or others as various versions of the same case will be reported. Comprehensive safeguards must be in place to ensure no identifying features of the case are released and attention is focused only on the significant facts and outcomes. The heads of Bill clearly state that it will be an offence for any information to be published or broadcast that would enable the parties of the case to be identified. Barnardos recommends that the penalties imposed be sufficient to ensure compliance.
Barnardos also wants to highlight the risk that a child may become aware of the media interest in their case and retract or change their statement in light of this. This could alter the outcome of the case. Having the media present could also potentially act as a deterrent for children to report incidences of abuse or neglect to their social worker because they fear their case would be identified. Given the sensitive nature of these cases, children must be assured that their privacy will be protected by any media reports of their case. To do otherwise will undermine trust between the families concerned and State bodies.
To conclude, Barnardos does favour greater transparency in how cases are dealt with but seeks to ensure that the legislation passed is watertight in terms of protecting the identities of the children and families involved in individual cases.

We share Barnardos' concerns and we hope the Minister could clarify his rationale for not clarifying that aspect of the legislation. An inordinate number of people could lay claim to being bona fide members of the press and how we monitor who is will be difficult. It seems that the most sensible and practical way of ensuring the system is well monitored and that the legislation will be, as Barnardos' put it, watertight, is a form of accreditation. It is not unusual to put in place safeguards of this kind. Accreditation is a perfectly reasonable, practicable and inexpensive way of ensuring that those who are reporting on such sensitive cases are aware and conscious of the substantial risks which would exist were the information and the identities of the people involved, in particular relating to children, to be released into the public domain. The legislation should be watertight and we must ensure the confidentiality of identities remains protected. I hope the Minister will outline how he intends to ensure that objective is reached.