Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Once someone establishes that he or she has been defamed, of course feelings come into the equation in the assessment of damages as Senator Norris outlined very well.

The Senator questioned whether we should have lodgements. Lodgements are a well-established part of our civil litigation system for the obvious reason that they discourage litigation. Litigation is very expensive for the State, which has an interest in this matter along with the parties. The State provides machinery for the adjudication of civil disputes, which is the courts system. Equally the State has an interest in discouraging parties from recourse to civil proceedings that are heard at full length, which is done through the lodgement system. The whole purpose of the lodgement system is to encourage individuals to settle their claims. The view is taken, to which I subscribe, that it is in the public interest to quieten claims and settle matters in so far as they can be settled. We are always outlining how undesirable it is for matrimonial proceedings to go their full distance and how desirable it is for parties to settle their unhappy differences before they enter the courtroom. However, that applies to most disputes. The State provides a lodgement system to encourage individuals to settle their disputes. A lodgement system needs to be a central feature of defamation law in our system.

Senator O'Donovan referred to the level of award for damages. In the continental jurisdictions the levels of awards for damages are lower than they are in common law jurisdictions. We have used the examples and experiences of other common law jurisdictions in deciding how to reform the law here. That brings me to Senator Alex White's general reflections on how we should reform our defamation laws. In this area we are dealing with powerful media organisations irrespective of whether their ownership is concentrated or diffuse. They are powerful organisations and can command substantial legal expertise. There has never been a shortage of intrepid and able lawyers willing to take them on. They are very powerful organisations that cannot be allowed to dominate debate on a subject like this. As the class of potential plaintiffs has no equivalent lobby group, it is important that careful scrutiny be given to this legislation.

That is why governments in most common law countries have embarked on an extensive period of consultation, discussion and report before proceeding to houses of parliament in this area. That has been the experience in the United Kingdom and has also been the process in this jurisdiction. The Bill did not fall out of the sky from the headquarters of some powerful media organisation. Considerable work was done by the Law Reform Commission and the Mohan committee. This issue was considered in great detail. The arguments on each issue were assessed. My philosophy on this legislation is that anything we can do to encourage the media organisations to apologise more readily is to be welcomed. Anything that promotes a culture of greater responsibility in writing in media organisations is to be encouraged. This legislation is a substantial step in that direction.