Mr. Eamonn Kennedy:

In general terms, they wanted a very extensive apology that RTE would never have agreed to under any circumstances. These matters get settled by two sets of lawyers negotiating and one gets to a finish which one hopes brings the matter to an end. Unlike personal injury cases or breach of contract, the problem with defamation cases is that they are not popularity contests of people or ideas. Once a person raises a complaint in the way one can raise it according to the way the defamation system works, there is a system there. I am not saying it is utterly wrong. That is not the point and I have never made that point. Once someone raises a complaint within the system, one must deal with it in a rational way. The point was made earlier that if this was defended for another six or 12 months, a white flag was run up the pole at the end of it and the costs were €1 million, people in this room would take issue with it.