Camillus Glynn (Fianna Fail)

There is a saying that the pen is mightier than the sword. In this case the pen was used as a sword and thrust into the open wound of the grief and tragedy of the Lawlor family. It is journalism of the sewer. When I came into this Chamber in 1997 the former Senator Willie Farrell repeatedly called for a press council. Some weeks ago Senator Mansergh and I talked about a story in a sister newspaper about councillors and their quest for a pension. A journalist submitted a piece to the Irish Independent balancing the points made in the original article. Was it published? No. If the truth gets in the way of a story the story wins every time.