Rónán Mullen (Independent)

Tá an ceart ar fad ag an Seanadóir Quinn nuair a luann sé an cheist faoi na damáistí a thugtar i gcás leabhail i gcomparáid le cásanna eile. D'ardaigh mise an cheist seo le linn dúinn an reachtaíochta maidir le clúmhilleadh a phlé agus mhol mé, agus bheadh go leor daoine ar aon tuairim liom, gur chóir an cúram a thabhairt do na breithimh damáistí a dhámhachtan do dhaoine i gcásanna clúmhillte.

It is time we considered the disparity between the damages awarded in libel cases and those awarded in personal injuries cases. Senator Quinn was right to raise this matter. The House debated this matter in the context of what became the Defamation Act 2009. I was one of those who proposed that we should consider leaving it to judges to make awards in cases of this nature. The latter is certainly a suggestion that is worthy of further consideration. While we are mindful of the responsibility of the media and the need to prevent abuses by its members in the context of people's reputations, we must also consider that it is not just in respect of the awarding of damages to people that the media can be held to account. There are other ways of dealing with media abuses in this area. I refer here to the imposition — on an independent basis — of fines and penalties on those who offend in this regard. One of the things I greatly regret about the chaos of recent days, of which I spoke yesterday, is precisely the issue Senator Dearey raised. I also attended that excellent presentation by Professor Karl Whelan. Listening to him, it struck me that this is what we really should be about as legislators instead of having the pointless gamesmanship we have seen in the past week which has brought the business of the Oireachtas to a halt to all intents and purposes and brought our proceedings into disrepute.