Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I too thank the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and compliment her on proceeding with this legislation because we badly needed a review.

Defamation is such a difficult area and it is a very expensive area, if a citizen is defamed. It happened me, actually, and I took a case. We got it corrected but it was frightfully expensive. When blatant untruths were published on a Sunday edition I did not want anything only the truth to be rectified and a donation for a local hospital by way of, when they accepted they were wrong, restorative justice.

When I got the bill, the costs were paid for my lawyers. My barrister told me that defamation litigation is frightfully expensive. There was only a number of emails and a couple of short phone calls. There was no visit to the Four Courts or any court. It was frightfully expensive. Justice that is out of the reach of persons is not justice at all. Many people can be defamed and they have to suck it up. They cannot afford to get their rights. There is need for changes here.

For people in businesses, the Minister has a name on it here, "transient defamation", where businesses are sued for comments made in the course of refusing services, such as questioning in relation to suspected shoplifting. This is a difficult area. It is a minefield for the business, for the store manager and for employees and it is an awfully thin line. It is very delicate. It is the same with refusal to premises, if one is running a food outlet or a licensed premises. Proprietors have significant issues and there are considerable concerns coming now with other proposed legislation that has not been published about the change of the licensing law, the greater liberalisation of them and the greater ease of obtaining licences. There are issues there.

I support business people out there. They have a plethora of laws and new regulations to deal with but there also needs to be some solid ground to stand on. If there are blatant abuses going on, shoplifting, unpleasant behaviour or whatever, the staff must be protected first of all, their business must be protected and so too must the good name of the business while being fair to the customer as well. It is very difficult, is all I am saying to the Minister, for people to operate in business with these threats of defamation and the sheer figures that were paid out by juries. Thankfully, these figures were taken away when it went to the European court.

There is a great deal of work to be done here. I urge caution and to make haste slowly. I wish the Minister well with it and ask her to listen to the people who are out there operating at the coalface.

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