The Press Ombudsman has upheld a complaint that The Irish Times breached Principle 5 (Privacy) of the Code of Practice of the Press Council of Ireland. The Irish Times published an article on a number of patients confirmed as having Covid-19 who had died in a hospital over a short period of time. The family of one of the named patients wrote to the editor of The Irish Times stating that one of the patients named was their mother. The Irish Times responded stating that it deeply regretted that the article had caused the family “so much upset” and apologised unreservedly for the upset caused. In publishing the name of the family’s mother without any consultation with the family The Irish Times breached Principle 5.3 of the Code.

Source: The Irish Times July 02, 2020 15:45 UTC