Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I am not in full agreement with the previous two speakers. I take their point, however, about the supposed feelings of corporate bodies. Where a statement is made, either through sloppy journalism or some other reason, that defames a corporate body and causes it to incur significant financial loss, that body must be in a position to take action. In extreme circumstances, job losses might arise in a company as a consequence of irresponsible reporting. Where there is no financial loss, however, I cannot offer any reasons that a defamatory statement might be actionable, although there may be circumstances where such is appropriate.