Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 44:

In page 51, line 10, to delete “undue offence”.

I will speak to amendment No. 44. We spoke about this on Committee Stage and we pointed out that "undue offence" can mean anything to anybody. The phrase is so broad that we asked that it not be included in the Bill. We sought clarity on the issue on Committee Stage but, unfortunately, none was forthcoming and the Minister could not provide a definition for the phrase when we asked for one, which is why we are seeking to make the amendment now. She made reference to the media commission codes in her response on Committee Stage but these codes have not yet been written. We have no idea what they will contain and, therefore, the wording is far too vague and open-ended for anybody to be comfortable with. The references to "undue offence" are much too vague and it is totally unclear what they mean or what the consequences of the section could be. Accordingly, we want to remove the references to "undue offence" from this part of the Bill and I hope the Minister will support that, for obvious reasons.

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