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On 9 November 2015, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) published its new Guidelines on General Election Coverage (for previous guidelines, see IRIS 2014-5/23). The guidelines are designed to provide direction and advice to broadcasters as to how fairness, objectivity and impartiality can be achieved in their coverage of the upcoming general election in Ireland. Rule 27 of the BAI Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality in News and Current Affairs provides that broadcasters must comply with guidelines and codes of practice on election and referenda coverage. The new guidelines set...

The High Court has awarded EUR 140,000 damages against the broadcaster TV3, for broadcasting a news report which incorrectly identified a Dublin-based lawyer as a defendant on trial for a number of criminal offences. It was the first time the court has ruled on the “offer of amends” procedure under the Defamation Act 2009, where a broadcaster publishes a correction and apology, and the court is asked to determine the issue of damages only. On 11 November 2013, during TV3’s evening news programme, the newsreader was reporting on the ongoing trial of a former lawyer, Thomas Byrne, for a number of...

On 1 September 2015, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) held, by a majority, that the public broadcaster RTÉ did not violate the Broadcasting Act’s and Broadcasting Code’s rules on fairness and objectivity when it broadcast a programme based on a leaked internal document from a government health authority. A complaint had been made by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to the BAI following a broadcast of RTÉ’s current affairs programme "Prime Time", which concerned a pregnant asylum seeker and her interactions with a number of government agencies. The programme broadcast information from...

On 1 September 2015, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) held, by a majority, that showing a model of an erect penis having a condom put on it did not violate broadcasting rules on offence, harm, or the protection of children. The decision arose following a complaint made about an "Ireland AM" programme broadcast by TV3. Ireland AM is a morning programme with a range of content, broadcast between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., and during a discussion on contraception, a model of an erect penis was shown having a condom put onto it. The complainant claimed that “this type of material is completely...

On 6 October 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered its judgment in Case C-362/14, Schrems v. Data Protection Commissioner, which was a preliminary reference from an Irish court asking whether: (a) national data protection authorities are absolutely bound by a European Commission decision, where an individual claims their personal data is being transferred to a country where there are inadequate laws on data protection, and (b) should a national data protection authority conduct its own review in light of factual developments since a Commission decision was first taken. The...