I appreciate the fact that the Minister met the first test by coming up with some kind of example. One could argue, however, that even President Trump and Elon Musk are entitled to some measure of due diligence on the part of any media organisation proposing to publish something that is false and damaging. If the Minister does not accept that line of argument, I point out to him that he makes an extreme case to defend a clause which does not say that the court may disregard an omission to take steps. Rather, it sta…

I move amendment No. 15: In page 11, after line 42, to insert the following: “(f) whether, any statement having been made which a reasonable or prudent person would conclude was capable of being defamatory, the presenter took prompt steps to— (i) challenge the person making the statement, (ii) alert viewers or listeners to the problem of possible defamation, the right of the subject of the statement to defend his or her good name and to initiate an action where appropriate against the publisher of defamatory materi…

We discussed this on Committee Stage. We are into the section dealing with the proposed live broadcast defence. We can all imagine the scenario where somebody pops up in the audience or maybe somebody on a panel delivers the shocker of the year of a kind that would have any defamation lawyer twitching either in anticipation or any client twitching in terror. We all understand the value of live broadcast. We can understand that there will be television moments that will involve a live audience where the risk is perh…

I thank the Minister for his reply. Promptness matters and sequence matters. Again, as I explained, there is no mention of promptness in paragraph (e). The phrase "overall management" could be interpreted as almost allowing a broadcaster to give some kind of a nod to the question of the right of the person to their good name. However, the urgency of the problem is in no way addressed in the section as it stands. While I appreciate the Minister saying that he cannot always be thinking of the person against whom a de…

I join my colleague Senator Joe Conway in paying tribute to the late John Quinn and extend my condolences to John's family. The documentary "Ballyfin - A Boarding School Memory" was very well received more than 30 years ago. John will be missed by a friend of mine, namely Helen Murphy of Port Road in Killarney, who corresponded with him regularly. I also take the opportunity to recall Mary White, a former Senator who has departed this life. Mary served in the Seanad and myself and Senator Martin Conway had the plea…

And other providers.

Hear, hear.

Well said.

First, I endorse what Senator Rabbitte had to say and commend her on it. Only this morning, I was talking to a dear friend whose parent with dementia has had to go into hospital because of a fall. This person is upset at having a pad put on during the night, not because the person is not capable of indicating a desire to go to the toilet but because that is seen as the easier way to manage a patient in the hospital. That is just one example of a very complex issue. It is an example of low standards in a high-spendi…

I have some sympathy with the complaint being made by fellow Members to the extent that there appears to be an inconsistency in terms of what normally happens, but I think from what the Leas-Chathaoirleach has said and quoted from Standing Orders, while there might be a certain inconsistency, which Senators have very validly brought to our attention today, what has happened is not out of order. On that basis, since we are trying to discuss a very important matter, people have put time into the preparation of amendm…

I have to disagree.

That is not what I said. I am saying that nothing out of order-----

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I welcome the initiative the Minister has taken in bringing forward this proposed section. You would have to be some strange kind of free speech absolutist to say that what has been going on in these days, times and years on social and online media is acceptable for the sake of maintaining an absolute free flow of ideas. Senator McDowell, others in this House and I have acted strongly and purposefully to defend the free exchange of ideas, particularly the free exchange of political idea…

I thank my colleague Senator McCarthy and welcome the Minister of State. What is going on here is the Nigerian Government is failing to protect its own citizens. It is vital that pressure be put on President Tinubu. I recommend listening to what people like Cardinal John Onaiyekan have said in recent days about what is going on. He points out this is not a Christian-Muslim conflict, though there are questions about the persecution of Christians in different parts of the world and questions of religious freedom. It …

It is clear the Minister of State is very sympathetic and that the Government is paying attention to this. Perhaps, on occasions like this, the Nigerian ambassador could be called in, specifically because Ireland must claim ownership of this issue, given the strong connections we have.

I welcome yesterday's announcement from the European Council that agreement has been reached on a Council position on a regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse. The European Parliament established its position in late 2023. There will be obligations on digital companies to prevent the dissemination of child sexual abuse material and the solicitation of children. National authorities will have the power to oblige companies to remove and block access to content or, in the case of search engines, to delist…

I raise a global human rights crisis that is ignored far too often. Next week, the charity Aid to the Church in Need will mark its annual week of witness which highlights the ongoing persecution of Christians around the world. It is a sobering thought when we realise that since the first century AD of the Roman Empire, which we most associate with the beginning of Christian persecution, more Christians have been killed for their faith in the past 100 years than in the previous 1,900 going back to the first Christia…

I am worried that, like the proposed amendment to section 11 which we discussed previously, this live broadcast defence is another very strong pro-media measure. It seems, notwithstanding the subclauses contained in the proposed amendment, that it takes us from one extreme to another and removes a necessary protection and issue that broadcasters, journalists and presenters should have in the back of their minds, that is, if someone is defamed by a third party, that can have serious consequences for them as a broadc…

With regard to the ungrateful media, I often think of the story about Kelvin MacKenzie of The Sun after some journalists were wined and dined by some corporate interest seeing to curry favour. On the way back to Fleet Street and the office, MacKenzie said "Now, let us go stun them with our ingratitude". An ungrateful media is a cornerstone of our democracy but an accountable media is also essential in our democracy. There is a particular thing I rose to ask the Minister about that worries me. Perhaps I am wrong and…

I do accept the Minister’s good faith attempt here to create a space for the media to do its important work. When he says it is not for us to decide whether the media operate using live broadcasts and so on, that may be so, but we all have to live with the consequences of our own liberties. It is not a question of telling the media what they can do. It is a question of saying that in the world in which we live, what you do may have serious consequences for innocent people. You have to be responsible, particularly i…