Ireland

[IE] Media Identification of Asylum-Seekers

IRIS 2001-4:1/34

Marie McGonagle

School of Law, National University of Ireland, Galway

Section 19.2 of the Refugee Act 1996 came into force in November 2000. It states that the identity of applicants for asylum must not be published in a written publication or broadcast without the consent of both the applicant and the Minister for Justice. A "written publication" is stated to include a film, sound track and any other record in permanent form. Breach of the section is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding IEP 1,500 and/or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months. The National Union of Journalists criticised the section as a restriction on the freedom of expression of asylum-seekers and as censorship of the media. The Minister said that the section, which was brought in by a previous government, was intended to protect the privacy of asylum-seekers and the confidentiality of the asylum process. He said (6 February 2001, as reported in The Irish Times of 7 February 2001), however, that he had reviewed the matter and would amend the section. The media will no longer need to obtain the consent of the Minister, only that of the applicant for asylum.