Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The purpose of the amendment is to give greater clarity to the provision. These are the circumstances in which the defence of honest opinion fails. It fails unless the defendant proves the truth of the allegations, which has to be there. If the defendant does not prove the truth of the allegations when dealing with a matter of opinion, the opinion could not be reasonably understood as implying the allegations were true. This is worded as "at the time of the publication the defendant did not know or could not reasonably expected to know the allegations were untrue." These are cumulative requirements under this amendment.

I will examine the fact that the two requirements are cumulative on Report Stage. It is an imposition on a defendant.