Paul Byrne leaves Virgin Media after settling High Court action

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Broadcaster Paul Byrne announced his departure from Virgin Media after settling his High Court action over the company’s disciplinary process.

On 4 June 2024, his counsel, Eoin Clifford SC, told Mr Justice Mark Sanfey that the dispute had been settled in its entirety following mediation and asked the High Court to strike out the case. The settlement terms were confidential. Byrne announced his departure on social media hours after the court was told of the settlement.

The court had previously heard that Byrne was suspended following a live report on 9 February 2024 about the death of a young boy in County Waterford. He reported that one line of inquiry was that the boy had allegedly been drowned and placed in a car. The information later turned out not to be true. Byrne had checked the claim with at least two credible sources, and two other media outlets had published the same information; he had believed it to be credible.

Byrne claimed he was suspended for allegedly breaching the broadcaster’s guidelines by failing to speak to his line manager before the broadcast. He denied wrongdoing and claimed the disciplinary process was flawed, punitive, disproportionate and in breach of his contractual rights. He sought injunctions to stop the process and lift his suspension. The defendants rejected his claims and said the alleged breach was serious in nature.