It reads less like a reform bill and more like a blueprint for an authoritarian state. If enacted in its current form, it will drive a coach and four through the protections that journalists and whistleblowers have relied upon to speak truth to power. “This Bill enables the State to trawl through journalistic materials under the guise of oversight. “Instead of building in higher safeguards, this Government is effectively trying to legislate around the judiciary’s defence of press freedom,” he said. “We have an opportunity to show leadership; or we can slide further down the path of soft authoritarianism.

Source: Irish Independent January 07, 2026 12:38 UTC