Protecting public interest reporting: what is the future of journalistic privilege in Irish law?

In its opening statement, the Disclosure s Tribunal has drawn attention to several unanswered questions about the Irish law on journalistic privilege It is beyond the scope of a short note such as this to propose answers to the issues identified by the Tribunal – not least because the facts pertaining to any assertion of privilege have not been established. The purpose of the note is rather to consider the conceptual framework in which these questions might be addressed. This is necessary given the relatively sparse authority on journalistic sources in Ireland.