Mr. Noel Curran:

One has to be careful in that we are talking about defamation internationally. People have a right to sue under current legislation. There is no point in our blaming people. If we defame people, there is no point in our blaming those who sue us or the lawyers. Lawyers do not run RTE. We take advice from lawyers and make decisions, and we need to take responsibility for that. We need to be responsible in what we broadcast. We are not looking for carte blancheauthority to say what we like. We feel that in the case of opinions, particularly those expressed by individuals in the public domain but also those of others, added protection is required. Some of the language on honest opinion has proven to have been very complicated. A number of issues arise but, importantly, we are not looking for a carte blancheto say what we like about people.