The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has accused the Minister for Justice of unnecessarily delaying the reform of controversial legislation which limits the media's ability to report on asylum issues.
Six months after promising to amend the legislation, which requires the media to obtain ministerial consent before identifying asylum-seekers, Mr O'Donoghue has yet to act.
In a letter to the NUJ, he said he intended to bring forward the necessary amendment to Section 19 of the Refugee Act, 1996, in the framework of the Immigration (Carriers Liability) Bill, which was being drafted.
However, Mr Seamus Dooley, NUJ national organiser for Ireland, said Section 19 could be deleted with the stroke of a pen: "There is no need for the Minister to delay any longer."
He added: "We are deeply disturbed that the Minister is planning to change Section 19 in the context of a completely unrelated piece of legislation."
The Carriers Bill proposes new penalties for lorry-drivers and trucking companies found to have asylum-seekers on board their vehicles. "It's a very complex piece of legislation and has profound implications for carriers and asylum-seekers, and we don't know why it should be linked with Section 19 at all," said Mr Dooley. "Is it just so the Minister can say `Here is the good news' and then slip in the bad news?"
Under Section 19 the identification of asylum-seekers in newspapers, radio and television is restricted by the Department of Justice, through which written permission must be obtained in order to publish information relating to them.
Contravention of the legislation can result in fines of up to £1,500 or a maximum of 12 months in prison.
Last February Mr O'Donoghue agreed to amend the legislation, saying it was not his intention to obstruct the reporting of asylum issues. The law, he said, was designed to protect the confidentiality of asylum applicants.
Mr Dooley said the Department had since been "turning a blind eye" to breaches of the law. "This makes life very difficult for journalists and people working with asylum-seekers because we are aware they [the Department] could invoke the law if they wanted to," he said.
He added: "The Minister himself has already brought the law into disrepute by saying it is no longer acceptable."
A spokesman for the Department said yesterday he believed the amending legislation was at an advanced stage.
