Sir, - It is time to rethink and then revamp our libel laws. The current question in the minds of every thinking person in this republic who has been following the rapscallion escapades of
Charlie, the black prince of Abbeville, is: How did he get away with it for so long? Easy. He operated with relaxed and imperious impunity behind the stalwart ramparts of the Irish libel laws.
Does anyone really think that there were not journalists out there that did not know what was going on? Of course they did. Any one of them, possessed of even the sense that God invested in a turnip, could see that old Charlie was living a life of luxury that could be explained only by nefarious financial dealings, or by magic. But they daren't have written or spoken a word. The king was strutting about as nude as a peeled peach, but if any member of the press mentioned that patently obvious fact in print or broadcast, the upstart in question would have found himself buried under an avalanche of solicitors, and likely, eventually consigned to media oblivion.
The problem, of course, inherent in any attempt to liberalise the libel laws is that changes in law, any law, is the purview of the politicians, and asking them to change that legislation is like asking the foxes if they wouldn't mind pitching in and helping repair the chicken coop fence. Hardly.
The only way it will happen is by referendum. And if the current heat generated by Charliegate isn't enough to spur the electorate into such action, I fear it will never be done. Now. Now is the time. - Yours, etc., P.J. GARRETT,
Raheny,
Dublin 5.