Joe Flaherty (Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Dee Ryan for taking the Chair to facilitate me contributing. Obviously, I welcome the Bill. As I was sitting in the Chair, I was thinking that if this was 70 or 80 years ago, we would just have been thinking about newspapers. It shows how we have evolved as a society when defamation covers so many aspects of our lives now. I am not quite sure whether this is a good or a bad thing.

I will address a few of the points made, one of which concerns the juries. As a former press man, I would obviously welcome the removal of juries. Many people have suggested the possibility of a hybrid model. We have an eminent Judiciary and exemplary judges, and I would be more than happy that judges can stand over their decisions and defend them. This is a positive step forward in what heretofore has been an extremely challenging scenario for us as a society.

In particular, I welcome the changes in the legislation on online defamation. Unfortunately, these are probably coming 20 years too late. As Senator McDowell said, we have seen a terrible deterioration in and coarsening of society generally. It is particularly prevalent, I fear, among younger people who have grown up in a silo of social media and feel it is okay to say what you like on social media, that everybody is an editor on social media and that social media do not have the same constraints as the printed press or broadcasting media. I welcome these changes, especially those that will allow us to now go to the Circuit Court to get the identification of anybody who posts anonymously online in a derogatory or defaming fashion.

We heard many contributions about the retail sector. As the proud son of a former shop owner, I still have a small retail hat on me, although I am glad I am not in the business of shops anymore. I would have an element of sympathy for what ISME is saying. From my engagement with the Minister, however, I do not feel the association fully comprehends the changes the legislation will make. This is an all-encompassing Bill. I think it has got a significant degree down the road in terms of where we need to go. We now have a provision in section 8 for a new statutory defence in so-called retail defamation cases. I think this is a significant step forward and a response to serious concerns expressed by retailers and the hospitality sector, in particular, as well as many small businesses in related fields as regards the increase in unfounded claims of defamation increasingly made against them.

We obviously appreciate how hard it is for the retail sector. It is very challenging, whether people are working in the retail sector or are employers. I recently saw online a case in County Longford where a security guard accosted someone shoplifting.Not only had he to deal with the trauma of that situation but he also had to deal with the trauma of someone recording what he was doing, posting it online and then all the vexatious comments berating him for doing his job. The problem with social media is that everyone is a citizen journalist. That is to be welcomed and everybody is entitled to have a place to speak but it is very much a Wild West scenario at this stage.

This is a significant Bill and it has an awful lot of positives. That is what I would say to retailers, based on the conversations I have had with the Minister who has given a very eloquent insight into the Bill. I know he said he has to leave but I hope he will have time to address the specific concerns raised with regard to retail. From my conversations, I am reassured the Bill will address many of those concerns.