Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

I apologise but I am only a new Deputy and I will have leeway for a few years.

The defamation law, formerly the law of libel and slander, is old and goes back in the mists of time to the common law. It is appropriate that the Legislature updates it to take account of modern practices and to balance the interests of the media and publishers with the interests of the private citizen and those who are being reported on. I am glad the distinction between libel and slander will be abolished under the legislation and it will be merged into the tort of defamation.

People knew what libel and slander were but it is difficult to sue for slander because one has to get over an additional hurdle and demonstrate special damage and a personal loss to oneself, except in a number of interesting cases. If a person is slandered about a criminal offence or suffering from a contagious or infectious disease or about one's business or if a woman is slandered about her chastity, he or she does not have to demonstrate a personal loss to himself or herself. These ancient exceptions, which resulted from cases in the British courts over the centuries, have no place in modern society. I am glad the tort of defamation does not require proof of special damage or loss and one can sue whether someone says something about one or prints it in a newspaper without demonstrating loss to oneself other than the loss of reputation, which is difficult to define financially. That is a welcome provision and many law students will be glad of this. This is often a trick question in legal examinations, which serves no purpose to wider society.

New procedures will be introduced in the legislation, including the verifying affidavit. A mechanism is provided under section 7 whereby both the plaintiff and the defendant are obliged to verify the particulars of any pleadings they make in the course of a court case. That is a welcome move, which follows from legislation such as the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003. If cases are taken in court under this Act, similar affidavits are required. It is important that the plaintiff or the defendant backs up what he or she says by swearing an affidavit and section 7 provides that it is an offence to make a false or misleading affidavit in any material respect.

There a number of anomalies in the previous law on libel and slander. One could have multiple court cases against multiple publications. If one was allegedly libelled by a raft of newspapers, one could sue them all, probably sue the printers and possibly sue the distributors. I have just been told that I must take the entire slot so I will do so to the best of my ability.

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