Alan Shatter (Minister, Department of Justice, Equality and Defence; Dublin South, Fine Gael)

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I propose to take Questions Nos. 520 and 521 together.

I share the concern of the Deputy that persons should not have their privacy violated by actions of the media in situations where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy. This can arise often in cases of a family tragedy, where due sensitivity is not exercised. Other examples might be the taking of revealing photographs, and here, the use of long lens photography is particularly problematic where a person is neither doing anything newsworthy or seeking publicity.

I support the right of the media to investigate and express views on matters of public interest. However, this cannot be at the expense of the rights of citizens to go about their business and to retain, as they choose, their anonymity. The Irish media, in general, have been respectful of privacy. In this regard, perhaps we might note that they are mindful of the principles contained in the Code of Conduct of the Press Council as well as the protection offered by the Constitution as enunciated in a number of court decisions over the years. However, unfortunately, the temptation to outrage can be lurking, particularly in the calculation of a commercial benefit.

The Privacy Bill 2006 was restored to the Order Paper of the Seanad in June 2006 at my request. In restoring the Bill to the Order Paper, my intention was to examine its provisions and to make any necessary changes and updating to the text. The previous Government had left the Bill on the Order Paper to give adequate time, first, to assess the effectiveness of the Press Council in dealing voluntarily with issues addressed in the Bill, and, second, to assess the impact of the new Defamation Act. I did not want to frustrate those processes in any way. For this reason I judged it sensible merely to restore the Bill in it’s original form. However, I am of the view that it is important to review the adequacy of the 2006 Bill’s provisions in light of developing case law in this area since its publication. There is a broad spectrum of issues which need to be addressed in this debate, ranging from the role of emerging technologies, the role of social media, the role of the State, the abilities of corporations to protect their legitimate interests and the rights of private citizens to go about their affairs without unlawful violation of their privacy.