Archive for 2009
Shocking treatment of Lenihan family breaches letter and spirit of media privacy codes
Posted on December 29, 2009 by Bronwen Maher
The shocking treatment of Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan and his family in the context of media reports into the Minister’s health is a ‘clear and disturbing breach’ of the Broadcasting Commissions of Ireland’s Code of Programme Standards and the Press Ombudsman’s Privacy Code, according to Labour MEP, Nessa Childers.
“Even a cursory reading of the relevant sections of these Codes shows that the media outlets who went public with the revelations about the Minister’s health status drove a coach and four through the letter and spirit of the frameworks governing print and broadcast media standards in Ireland.
“In fact, I would also be concerned that this unwarranted intrusion into a public figure’s private life may even be in contravention of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights which provides a right to respect for one's ‘private and family life.’
“The way in which the privacy of the Lenihan family has been trampled on begs a number of important questions in relation to the future operation and regulation of the media in Ireland. The voluntary press codes are predicated on the notion that the media acts in good faith and in the wider public interest in the pursuit and publication of a story.
“When the fundamental tenets of an agreed, voluntary code have been so severely transgressed as to bring the codes themselves into disrepute, then the government, the Press Council, the Press Ombudsman, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland and other relevant stakeholders must revisit this whole area as a matter of urgency in order to assert, protect and defend the right to dignity and respect for the individual under a more robust and certain legal framework.
Nessa Childers added, “The circumstances surrounding the media speculation around Brian Lenihan's health condition should cause all of us to imagine what it would be like for our families to be faced with an unwarranted intrusion like this. Already there would be a great deal of fear and worry. Both parents would be struggling with their own feelings as well as having to talk about the unthinkable with their children.
“In the middle of all of this anxiety, a disturbing and intrusive phone call appears to have been made telling the family that the ‘story’ will enter the public sphere in a matter of a couple of days. This deadline imposed by another has effectively robbed a family of the courtesy and dignity of addressing this most personal of matters at a time which best suits them.
“The voluntary, or at least the laissez-faire operation and enforcement of codes of conduct in this country have hopelessly failed in the financial sector and now we see the same here.
“There is every likelihood that at some point in the near future the Privacy Bill will be brought into law. This has been resisted until now on the basis that the voluntary nature of the code is working for everyone. The events of the last couple of days ask serious questions about this assertion.
“In addition to the suffering caused to individuals, repeated violations and intrusions into people’s private space have the potential to make politics a more fearful and less attractive profession for people of ability to be involved in."
Something rotten in state of Denmark
Posted on December 20, 2009
Irish MEP Nessa Childers described the Copenhagen Accord reached in the Danish capital this weekend as "terribly disappointing and largely pointless. Something really was rotten in the state of Denmark this week," she said.
The Labour MEP who sits on the European Parliament's powerful Environment Committee and was in Copenhagen this week said, "Essentially the world's two biggest polluters, the US and China, have failed to show any leadership on the greatest threat facing humanity. For this they must be condemned by all who care about the future of our planet.
Leaving a snowy Copenhagen...
Posted on December 17, 2009
As I leave Copenhagen today, the soundings coming from the conference do not sound good. It seems we are suffering from a lack of leadership from the US and China is particular and also a less than satisfactory stewardship from the Danish hosts. The shambolic UN organisation of the event, leaving people queuing for hours in the cold didnt help.
For more updates and photos from my Copenhagen trip, check out my Facebook page...
Now to the airport. I hope all the visiting Head of States dont mean the transport options will be blocked off...
Irish NGOs locked out of Copenhagen talks
Posted on December 16, 2009
Speaking from outside the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Labour MEP Nessa Childers has slammed the decision by conference organizers to ‘lock out non-governmental environmental groups from witnessing a defining moment in history’.
Nessa Childers said, “This Conference was supposed to be about openly and honestly tackling the great challenge of our time in an accountable and transparent way. Try telling that to Irish NGOs such as An Grian, who were among the hundreds of expert groups barred from entering the conference venue today. I spoke to An Grian founder Pat Finnegan myself in the queue outside, and heard first hand his anger at the Irish government.
COP15 Latest - Despondency creeping into Copenhagen talks after walkout
Posted on December 15, 2009
COP15 Latest
Posted on December 14, 2009
While there was considerable trouble today as I arrived in Copenhagen, when the G77-China group of developing countries temporarily suspended talks, the mood in the city remains optimistic as participants attempt to work through the many and varied disagreements here over the next six days.
Division
The largest outstanding point of division remains emission cuts, with very few countries prepared to follow the EU's lead in committing to upward of 20% cuts in 1990 levels by 2020.
Government must push for ‘30/30’ climate deal Childers says in Copenhagen
Posted on December 14, 2009 by Bronwen Maher
Speaking from Copenhagen, host city for the UN Climate Change Conference, Nessa Childers, Ireland’s sole member of the European Parliament Environment Committee said:
Book digitisation to be welcomed but nobody should have a monopoly
Posted on November 26, 2009 by Bronwen Maher
Labour MEP Nessa Childers today, has welcomed Google's plans to create an online library, but has cautioned against the company becoming a monopoly power in the area.
Speaking in the European Parliament in Strasbourg Nessa Childers said: "We must cherish public access to our shared European culture and heritage.
"I am sure Google have no ill intentions. Google has an excellent employment record in Ireland and global reputation as a real leader in cutting-edge Internet technology.
“The digitisation of books, such as the Google Books project, has the potential to unlock huge volumes of the world’s collective knowledge and cultural heritage, and we should support efforts to make books searchable, readable, and downloadable.
Nessa Childers MEP speaking at the Climate Change Forum, November 2009
Posted on November 26, 2009 by Bronwen Maher
Please see link below to see Nessa speaking at the climate change forum in the European Parliament buildings in Molesworth Street, Dublin on the 20th November 2009
Childers calls on the EU to boost CO2 reduction offer to 40% ahead of Copenhagen summit
Posted on November 25, 2009 by Bronwen Maher
A unilateral offer by the EU of a new 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would strongly demonstrate to the US and China that Europe is prepared to “go the extra mile” and lead the world in tackling climate change.
Such ambition would also help transform the Irish economy, providing new opportunities for Irish green-tech businesses and creating thousands of green, sustainable jobs as we move to a low-carbon future, according to Nessa Childers MEP who will be in Copenhagen next month for the UN Climate Change Conference.
Speaking after the adoption of a resolution in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the only full Irish member of the Parliament’s Environment Committee said "an offer of a 40% target jump, conditional on all key players jumping in unison, is warranted, viable and achievable at this time.
“The Parliament has already shown more ambition than the Member States in relation to a reduction in carbon emissions and today’s resolution is to be welcomed with calls for real financing, calls for strong targets in the high-end from 25-40% in line with the science and on the insistence on a legally binding agreement.
“However I believe the goalposts have now shifted somewhat as the recession has led to a significant fall in global emissions since the EU’s initial negotiating position of 20-30% was first drawn up in 2007. Reaching higher targets on emissions is now much more achievable than first thought. The EU must make a conditional offer of the maximum 40% target as called for under today's resolution.
“There is a clear economic win-win involved in pursuing higher targets. Reductions in emissions of up to 40% would have a revolutionary impact on the Irish and European economies. It would help create the dynamic and the demand needed to drive new Irish indigenous clean energy sectors, leading to a massive increase in sustainable green jobs.”
