Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I welcome this Bill. It is important that it has the support — which I am sure was not easily won — of all the major interests. The question remains whether there should be privacy legislation in place to complement it. The media have condemned out of court the introduction of any such legislation. Can it be their position that nobody has any right to privacy? In practice, it often boils down to where one draws the right to privacy of public figures. This is an issue that requires further discussion and consideration but it should not be dismissed out of court. Those in the media have a responsibility to bring forward constructive suggestions in this regard.

I approach this Bill from a similar angle to that taken by Senator Maurice Hayes, which is neither particularly from the point of the view of the political class nor particularly from the perspective of the media. The reality is that it is dangerous for private individuals to take a libel case unless they have access to exceptional means. We saw recently how two public figures, one a Member of the other House and the other a senior public servant, came to grief as a result of taking cases. An element of such difficulties is the cost of litigation. The Competition Authority's report suggests that lawyers want to ensure we all have access to a Rolls Royce system. The difficulty, however, is that the vast majority of us cannot afford a Rolls Royce. This is something that must be examined.

When I was doing my doctorate on 18th century French history, relating to events well before the revolution, I discovered there were proposals at that time regarding a free system of justice and the breaking down of barriers between solicitors and barristers. It is telling that this type of discussion was taking place during the ancien régime but the matter has still not been resolved.