Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I was subjected to criticism from Senator Regan but I can give it as much as the next fellow. The Labour Party tabled amendments in the Dáil and then spoke and voted against them and in favour of another amendment. Today, a similar approach has been taken, albeit by the Fine Gael Party, in that Senator Regan tabled an amendment but then sought to have another amendment passed when his initial amendment was not successful. In effect, he accepted the principle of my argument that there is a requirement under the Constitution to have blasphemy made an offence punishable in accordance with the law. We may not like it but, as I indicated, linguistic gymnastics will not get around this statement, which is one of the starkest in the Constitution.

I have no doubt that this matter will be subject to review by the Oireachtas, probably in the not too distant future. We need to examine the issue of balance raised by Senator Walsh. The Privacy Bill, which is on the Order Paper, will probably afford the Dáil and Seanad an opportunity to address the issue of privacy.

I am pleased the Bill will finally be passed today. As I stated earlier, it is not legislation I would have liked on my Christmas card list. We should now proceed to pass it into law, at which point I hope the President will sign it.

One genuine benefit of this legislation to ordinary people is that it enables apologies to be made without admission of liability. In my experience as a solicitor, litigants are much happier to receive an apology within a week of an offending article being published. In many cases, the media outlet in question would also prefer to issue an apology but its lawyers argue that an apology constitutes an admission of liability. The legislation will allow a media organ or an individual who is a defendant to make an apology without admission of liability. This is probably the most important advance in the Bill.

I am pleased to have been the Minister to have this legislation passed. I hope we will not have to use the review mechanism often. As I indicated, however, the legislation provides for a review by the Oireachtas within not more than five years. The review could be done earlier.

Question declared carried.