Rabbitte: public persons should not 'reach for defamation laws' easily

The Minister for Communications, Pat Rabbitte, has hit out at the notion that people involved in public debate should "reach for the defamation laws" to vindicate their points of view.

"Especially if you are a public person, in the sense of being a columnist - the notion that you're such a fragile creature that you have to reach for the defamation laws in order to vindicate your point of view is wrong," he said.