Mr. Peter Feeney:

A simple proposal I made, as mentioned earlier, was that all solicitors should be obliged to inform clients when talking about defamation that there is a faster and free mechanism to establish reputation, that is, to use the Office of the Press Ombudsman. I do not want to malign solicitors but we have found many solicitors are slow to ask their clients if they have considered going down the Press Ombudsman route, because it is free and there is nothing in it for solicitors. It would lead to a quick resolution in some cases and does not stop the client or member of the public subsequently suing, if they want to do that.

Someone suing a newspaper is looking at two to five years, paying costs if they lose and maybe paying publisher's costs as well. It is a risky business. Going to the Press Ombudsman costs nothing and there is no threat of any cost at any stage. I would like to see measures to encourage that. We have this in family law, where solicitors are obliged to inform clients of mediation services etc. Saying solicitors must inform clients of our services would not restrict people's constitutional right to go to the courts. If we do not work or they are not satisfied, they can still sue.