Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I will be brief as I regret I must attend two meetings this evening. In speaking to amendment No. 30, I acknowledge the Minister's amendment No. 29 goes some way towards addressing the points raised here on Committee Stage and during a previous debate on this Bill prior to the dissolution of the Dáil.

Subsection (h) of the Minister's amendment states: "if the plaintiff's version of events was not so represented, the extent to which a reasonable attempt was made by the publisher to obtain and publish a response from that person; and". I am asking that such reasonable attempt made by the publisher be made in advance. When we last discussed this, the Minister stated that would be understood. However, he also stated in reply to another of my amendments that we cannot leave matters to be determined by the courts or leave issues open. While the proposed change is minor, it obviates a situation arising whereby with five minutes to the by-line an attempt is made to contact a person and that contact having failed an article appears in the daily newspaper. While an attempt may be made to contact the person the following day, the damage will have already been done. The argument could be made, under the section as drafted, that everything possible was done to make contact with the person. An article can be prepared over a number of days and there is no reason a person, the subject matter of an article, cannot be contacted well in advance of publication of that article.

Unfortunately, I must now leave the Chamber. I acknowledge and thank the Minister for amendment No. 33. I know we are not dealing with amendment No. 33 now but it addresses the issue raised in amendment No. 34 in my name.