Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)

I am generally supportive of this Bill and, unlike some of my colleagues, I see the rationale in not having juries for certain types of defamation cases. However, I have a query about the corporate entity issue, which is a follow up on what other Deputies said. Let us say there is a chain of hardware stores - let us call them Fianna Fáil hardware - and it is owned by Joe Bloggs. Let us also say Fianna Fáil hardware had a couple of defective pots of paints or whatever, but because it is the only hardware store in the town where it sells, the sales do not decrease. Right-thinking members of society, however, are starting to shun and avoid Joe Bloggs who owns the hardware stores. Is it the case the owner of a hardware store has to take a personal defamation claim, even though the complaints are made against the corporate entity, which is the hardware store? Where is the dividing line?

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