RTE has been hit with 29 separate sets of legal proceedings for defamation over the past six years with a sharp uptick in cases so far this year.
The cases have cost the broadcaster more than €4.7 million – or an average of around €160,000 each – although not all the cases have yet been closed and costs are likely to rise still further.
RTE said it would not be possible to say how often they were threatened with a defamation claim but could provide data on when legal proceedings were actually issued.
