Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We will have that quite soon. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, is working on heads of the Bill and we hope to have that enacted next year.

I was not going to bring it up, but I do agree with the Deputy. People are entitled to sue the media if they so wish, but they do not have to. There are other ways to seek redress, one of which is a complaint to the Press Council of Ireland. That is the appropriate course that people should follow. To see a Member in this House not just suing a major newspaper but also personally suing a journalist is only designed to do one thing; it is designed to make journalists afraid. It is designed to make them think twice about what they write and that is wrong. There are other ways to get redress and corrections and clarifications. At the very least, the first step should be the Press Council of Ireland and not suing a news organisation, and particularly not suing a journalist individually. I think that is frightening actually.

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