Reply from the Irish Needle Exchange Forum to the article “Sterilising junkies may seem harsh.”

I am writing to you, in my capacity as Chairperson of the INEF, to express our disappointment in regard to the article by Ian O’Doherty on Friday 18th February 2011 in the Irish Independent “Sterilising junkies may seem harsh.” We were disturbed to read such prejudice against a vulnerable group in Irish society. All of the content of the article was offensive; however, Ian’s statement that he would cheer at the death of all drug users in the country was beyond the pale.

Overdose death is a weekly, if not daily, occurrence in Ireland. Indeed, two weeks ago seven families lost loved ones to fatal overdoses and we can only imagine the heartache that such an inflammatory article has caused them.

It is regrettable that editorial permission was sanctioned for this article, we request a full retraction and a copy of this letter is being forwarded on to The Office of the Press Ombudsman.

Comments

#1. Posted by Tim Bingham on February 22, 2011

I am very encouraged by the numbers of groups and individuals who have written into the Irish Independent, all of who expressing their disappointment at the fact that such content was allowed to be published in the Irish Media. this article clearly infringes the spirit of the press complaints code.

In Principle 8 on Prejudice, The Press Complaints Newspapers Code of Practice calls on ?Newspapers and periodicals shall not publish material intended or likely to cause grave offence or stir up hatred against an individual or group on the basis of their race, religion, nationality, colour ,ethnic origin, membership of the travelling community, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, illness or age.?

International bodies such as the WHO and UN recognise that drug users are subject to human rights and civil liberties infringements ranging from denial of treatment, employment and housing to unfair imprisonment, and in some countries, extra-judicial murder at the hands of death squads, and roundly condemns the same as do major human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

In response to the recent reply 22/2/2011 by Mr O’Doherty its disappointing that no acknowledgement or apologies were given by the Irish Independent or Mr O’Doherty in relation to the statement ’ that he would cheer at the death of all drug users in the country’ still no recognition was given to those families that have lost loved ones through fatal overdoses etc the INEF do encourage other groups to respond by writing the the editor and the press complaints office

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