Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The multiple publication in the definition in section 10(3) means a publication by a person of the same defamatory statement to two or more persons whether contemporaneously or not. It is the contemporaneity of the publication which is an issue in the subsection. In the circumstances Senator Walsh outlined of a newspaper or other media organisation running the same story day after day, each publication would be separate, with a fresh cause of action.

Senator Norris, however, asked whether the section implements its intent. I have some reservations about the expression "multiple publication" because in the textbooks, multiple publication traditionally referred to the phenomenon of having a separate cause of action in respect of each publication, although section 10(3) attempts to clarify the matter. I am open to revisiting the wording, especially in the context of the word "occasion" which Senator Norris used and might help to clarify the intent.