David Norris (Independent)

I join with colleagues in expressing my revulsion at the way in which the story of the young man who tragically met his death in Lucan was treated in the media. It was stated authoritatively that he was known to the police, which he was not, and that he was a convicted criminal, which he was not either. His family, so traumatised by this, has no recourse in action. This afternoon we will deal with the Defamation Bill. No clause in the Bill covers libelling of the dead, despite the recommendation of the Law Reform Commission that this be included, thus allowing close relatives of the deceased to take action with a limit of a period of years. I propose to table an amendment at the appropriate time to ensure this happens.

This is not the first time this has happened. The Leader raised a similar case in tones of horror when a young man, a relative of a sensational murderer, was photographed cycling through the front square of Trinity College. His name and degree course were printed. He had done nothing wrong and it was not his fault that his father had a psychopathic past.

Another case is that of Mr. Liam Lawlor. Newspapers claimed he was killed in the company of a prostitute. The young woman was fortunate to survive and I hope she mulcts all the newspapers in damages.

We are approaching International Women's Day and are also in the middle of Lent. I listened to "Liveline" at lunch and, while it is meretricious to raise matters from that show all the time, he sometimes considers important matters. This Trócaire advertisement was one of the best I have heard. It concerned the manner in which women are discriminated against and listed various categories of discrimination which all had one thing in common, namely, they were perpetrated on women. Someone objected to this and, for reasons of political correctness, the advertisement has been withdrawn.