Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I understand fully the views of the Members opposite. One of the reasons we are taking this approach is to maintain a certain coherence across the various pieces of legislation that relate to how deceased people are treated in matters such as this. In the Defamation Bill, which recently went to Committee Stage, a similar provision has been maintained whereby the right of reply does not apply to a deceased person. We must be cognisant of the need for consistency across the various Bills and Acts in terms of the treatment of dead versus living persons with regard to complaints.

In the current BCI code of programme standards, which we are hoping to strengthen, the section on news, current affairs and documentaries states, "Factual programming shall ensure that the dead are treated with respect", and there are a number of different aspects to this. Thus, there are certain codes in place that provide controls. As I said, because of the historical precedent that defamation does not apply to those who are deceased, we do not want to have a two-tier approach, and thus I am reluctantly unable to accept Deputy Coveney's amendment.

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