Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

The Minister should explain what he envisages as the scope of section 3(2), which provides for an element of retrospection in this Bill. It states that, "A provision of this Act shall not affect the operation of the general law in relation to defamation, in force immediately before its commencement, except to the extent that that provision provides otherwise". What is the scope of this provision and how does the Minister view it? There is a general rule against retrospective legislation.