David Norris (Independent)

Yes, but it is much more serious when one is handing down a judgment. We need to examine clipping the wings of the Judiciary when taking legal action. I am not talking specifically about my case. It is very difficult for the ordinary members of the public to sustain themselves against a libel action taken by a judge, a member of a close-knit fraternity.

I repeated my concerns on drinks licences in the same week on the same television station. RTE cravenly gave in and the learned judge, very happily, took the station twice for considerable sums. I warned RTE to tie his hands because I saw this coming down the line, but foolishly it did not.

For that reason, we should examine a process where we constrain the idea of multiple publication. If the same thing is said on two separate occasions in the same outlet, it is not appropriate, just or fair for somebody who has made large sums of money from the first statement to take another whack and get another bite of the cherry. The reputation, if damaged, was damaged once.