Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

It is difficult to argue against Senator Norris's logic in this regard. While I do not disagree with his comments, the present situation, whereby newspapers feel justifiably constrained from issuing apologies because of the inherent danger of subsequent court cases, raises a dilemma. Subject to what the Minister will say in this regard, the intention of this provision is to allow newspapers that know they have made an error to proceed freely and publish an apology without it being part of a settlement with the injured party. There is a certain logic to this. This should be accompanied by the existence of an independent body, such as an independent press council, that could underpin the apology by awarding some compensation to the individual in question. However, this is missing from the equation.