A junior minister has labelled one American newspaper as "a disgrace" for its reporting on the Berkeley tragedy.

The New York Times today claims the J1 visa programme has become "a source of embarrassment for Ireland".

The report - with the headline 'Deaths of Irish Students in Berkeley Balcony Collapse Cast Pall on Program' - recalls how other Irish J1 students have been involved in damaging property.

It also says the party the Irish students were attending in Berkeley had disrupted the sleep of others nearby and refers at length to the "work-hard, party-hard lifestyle" enjoyed by Irish students on their working holidays.

Junior minister Aodhan Ó Ríordáin says the report is "a disgrace" and wants the newspaper to apologise.