Garda Representative Association (GRA) general secretary PJ Stone denied in court yesterday he had libelled RTÉ's crime correspondent Paul Reynolds in an article in the Garda Reviewmagazine.
Mr Stone, author of an editorial in the magazine which was critical of Mr Reynolds, claimed he had a right on behalf of his rank and file members to criticize RTÉ coverage of a garda's detention and questioning six years ago about an alleged rape in Tenerife.
Hugh Mohan SC, counsel for Mr Stone and the Garda Review, told Circuit Court president Mr Justice Matthew Deery that the editorial column in the magazine was the one area where Mr Stone could vent his views on questions and issues of public importance to his members.
"He can and is allowed and it is permissible in law for him to criticise Mr Reynolds. His defence of fair comment confers protection against liability for anyone who makes defamatory statements which contain fair comment on matters of public interest," Mr Mohan said.
Mr Reynolds claimed the article written by Mr Stone held him out to be an irresponsible journalist in his presentation of a report on the detention and questioning of the garda on the holiday island.
He had reported in a voice to camera piece in front of Garda headquarters that it was understood the garda had a lot to drink and had been put out of a pub twice prior to an Irish woman, who had been part of his group, complaining she had been assaulted and raped.
Mr Stone told Mr Mohan he believed Mr Reynolds' reporting of the incident in Tenerife had been "irresponsible".
He said the Garda Review office had received up to 60 calls of complaint as a result of the RTÉ crime correspondent's reporting of the garda being detained and questioned about the alleged rape.
Mr Stone said the way the report had been put together could be perceived to be prejudiced against the garda, as there had been no evidence to suggest that the garda had consumed alcohol or that he had been removed from the pub.
He said he did not understand RTÉ's decision to use Garda headquarters as a backdrop to a piece to camera report by Mr Reynolds.
Mr Stone said he did not think it necessary to identify the profession of an individual in reporting such matters. Members of An Garda Síochána were subject to great scrutiny and he felt due process should have been allowed to be completed before anyone entered into the realm of speculation in a report. He felt this could lead to embarrassment of those being investigated.
Mr Stone said he had written the editorial as an opinion piece and he considered it to be fair comment on Mr Reynolds' reporting of the issues, believing that freedom of expression was "absolute".
He told Luan O'Braonain SC, for Mr Reynolds, he did not consider he had made derogatory remarks about his client in his editorial. Judgment was reserved until next week.