David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 109c:

In page 38, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following:“Records of the Commission

57. Records of the Commission required to be kept under section 29 shall not be amenable to discovery in any court proceedings, civil or criminal and shall not be amenable to any order for production, inspection, correction or amendment under any law relating to data protection or freedom of information.”.

This amendment ensures the privacy of the commission's deliberations. It is important to have this element in the Bill, and for the commission to be able to range widely in its discussions and make reference to matters, which may not be in the public interest to be bruited abroad. It insulates the records of the commission from orders for discovery in court proceedings, for example. I am aware of the idea of discovery, which is an important element in the law, because I made some very important discoveries in a libel case I once took. A woman published an interview she did with me in 2000 or 2001, and I wanted to take libel action against her but could not find a barrister prepared to take the case. Subsequently, when I took the libel action, we won discovery of the tapes, which was significant because they differed substantially from the grotesque distortion of my views she had published. I therefore accept that discovery is an important mechanism.