Micheál Martin asks opposition to help pass defamation reforms in the autumn

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has asked opposition TDs to cooperate with the Government in the autumn to pass their proposals to reform Ireland’s draconian defamation laws.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs said the Defamation (Amendment) Bill marked “major progress” and was the “blueprint for futureproofing our defamation laws”.

Asked if he had concerns that some members of the opposition who have been accused of using strategic lawsuits may not vote for the reforms, Mr Martin said: “I hope they would reflect on that.”

Among the key provisions in the Bill highlighted by Government are the abolition of juries in High Court defamation actions, which is hoped to reduce delays and legal costs; and of protections against strategic lawsuits, also known as SLAPPS actions, viewed as having a chilling effect on public interest journalism and press freedom.

“We can’t guarantee anything in terms of human behaviour, or tactics or strategy that people may engage in, but certainly this tips the balance, I would argue in terms of the SLAPP dimension, this tips the balance back in favour of the media,” he said.

The draft laws also include a statutory power for the Circuit Court to issue a ‘Norwich Pharmacal’ order, allowing a digital services provider to identify an anonymous poster of defamatory statements online.

“I’ve been subjected to such online advertisements and so on, and it did strike me as far more challenging for individual citizens to seek the identity of such online defamers. That ongoing work in this Bill is very welcome in that regard,” Mr Martin said.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said the changes would reduce legal costs and delays, and that it “strikes the right balance” between giving people a chance to protect their name and freedom of expression.

“We must protect responsible investigative journalism from abuse of litigation by companies, by organisations, by individuals, and by political parties who try to create a chilling effect by silencing the media.”

She said there were several reasons why they did not include a ‘minimum harm’ threshold in the Bill, which would have seen people prove that a certain amount of harm was done before being granted permission to take a legal case.

She said legal advice was sought from the Attorney General and externally.

“What we’ve seen in the UK is that it has in a lot of instances resulted in significant delays and increased costs for pre-trial hearings, where a person is trying to set out the serious harm that has been caused.”

The Bill would also introduce a new statutory defence in ‘retail defamation’ cases, responding to concerns about a large recent increase in claims of defamation made against businesses who ask a person to produce a receipt.

The Bill is to be published on the Houses of the Oireachtas website next week.

Ms McEntee said that the intention is for the Bill to come before the houses of the Oireachtas in September for the next Dáil term.