Media

Newspaper editors highlight need for reform of defamation laws at Leinster House briefing

Key issues raised were the need for the abolition of juries in defamation actions and the introduction of a serious harm test

At the Oireachtas briefing on defamation reform were Ann Marie Lenihan, CEO of NewsBrands, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee TD and Colm O’Reilly, chairman of NewsBrands Ireland. Photograph: Fennell Photography
Wed Oct 25 2023 - 19:48

Editors of some of the country’s national newspapers highlighted the urgent need for a reform of defamation laws at a briefing to politicians in Leinster House on Wednesday.

A panel discussion moderated by Business Post editor Daniel McConnell highlighted that Ireland’s outdated and ineffective defamation laws are having a chilling effect on the media’s role as the public’s watchdog and its ability to reveal matters of vital public interest.

Speaking on the panel were Nóirín Hegarty, editor of the Sunday Times; Ruadhán Mac Cormaic, editor of The Irish Times, and Dave O’Connell, editor of the Connacht Tribune. The key issues raised by the panel were the need for the abolition of juries in defamation actions and the introduction of a serious harm test.

The Journalism Matters special briefing was hosted by industry groups NewsBrands Ireland and Local Ireland, the representative bodies for national and local news publishers.

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Following a seven-year delay, the report of the review of the Defamation Act, 2009, was published in March 2022, with the General Scheme of the Defamation (Amendment) Bill published earlier this year.

NewsBrands has been calling for the abolition of juries in defamation actions for almost 40 years, calling them unpredictable, time consuming and costly.

While welcoming a serious harm test in defamation cases involving companies, public authorities and retailers, outlined in the general scheme of the Bill, NewsBrands questioned why it is not being introduced for all defamation cases. Such a test would discourage trivial defamation claims that can chill free expression and inundate the courts with lengthy and costly court cases, it said.

Colm O’Reilly, chairman of NewsBrands Ireland, said: “It is crucial that the reforms, now prioritised by Government, be implemented as quickly as possible and, certainly, within the legislative timeframe of the current Dáil. A failure to implement these changes speedily would continue to undermine the work of the independent media in Ireland, which further erodes the proper functioning of democracy in this country.”