Solicitors should be obliged to tell clients about Press Council

Mr Feeney (pictured) has said that the measures could be one of a series of steps taken to reduce the “inflated” size of defamation awards in Ireland.

He also suggested supplying juries with suggestions of suitable payouts, similar to the Book of Quantum in personal injury cases.

The Press Council’s submissions to the Department of Justice fall short of advocating a cap on defamation payouts, but give support to measures reducing the size of defamation payouts.

Mr Feeney told RTÉ’s Today With Sean O’Rourke: “There is no incentive for solicitors to encourage their clients to go down the Press Council route because there is no money in it for the client or for the solicitor, for that matter. If you go down the defamation route, potentially there is hundreds of thousands in awards awaiting you.”

He added: “We would agree that defamation awards in Ireland are way out of step with every other country.

“The media is suffering from that, but I would argue that the Press Council is also suffering because if someone feels that they can get €100,000 in a defamation settlement they go down that route.

“The evidence is that other European countries give a fraction of what Ireland gives.”

The Press Council’s annual report, released yesterday, reveals the ombudsman received 261 complaints in 2016, down from 278 in 2015.