David Norris (Independent)

Yes, but a matter in which I have been consistently involved has been raised, namely, An Taisce. When an Irish Independent columnist starts writing about a columnist from The Irish Times there is only one reason I have ever seen for that and it is to cause mischief. In this case I would say that the use of the words "infection" and "criminal" was very unwise by An Taisce but it may well have had good reason to object. Mr. O'Toole was quite reasonable in his response. He might not welcome all the allies on this side because he is one of those people who has consistently defended An Taisce against the attacks by politicians. He said that his one regret in this case is that An Taisce itself might be discredited by the use of widely misreported language. He is right and I support him on that but I also support the statutory role of An Taisce.