Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 4 July 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

General Scheme of the Defamation (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed)

Mr. Michael Kealey:

The example of PIAB as a triage is a really good one. The reality is, we would be perfectly happy, depending on what the person who is upset wants to do, to go to the press council and see if it can be resolved quickly without money changing hands, then go to PIAB. If PIAB can reach a decision, then the person may decide to go to PIAB and it will be quicker, an award will be received more quickly, the good name will be done. However, that will not cut off the possibility of taking litigation. That would be absolutely fine. What we want to do is speed it up, have certainty and so on. The triage analogy and metaphor is a good one.