Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Defamation Act 2009 defines defamation and refers to a statement being defamatory where the statement is published, the statement is false and the statement explicitly implies to or refers to a specific person. The report into the review of the Defamation Act 2009 runs to 313 pages. While reform of the legislation is required and is something we have called for previously, it is important for a balance to be struck.

Defamation cases are also seen by some members of the public as a remedy that is only open to well-heeled individuals and not as something they could afford. Any reform must remove financial barriers for ordinary people to defend their good name while also maintaining the ability of the press to report on stories that are in the public interest. Sinn Féin is opposed to the recommendation that the use of juries in defamation trials be abolished. Indeed, we have also opposed this move in the North.

Regarding recommendation 2, further clarification is needed on the potential changes which the Government may seek to make regarding serious harm. We strongly support the removal of the exclusion of defamation from the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995. We must remove the financial barrier of taking a defamation case. We are also in favour of the introduction of the so-called anti-SLAPP mechanism, which will ensure ordinary people, including workers and customers, are protected from being silenced by big companies that initiate defamation cases as a form of censorship. In this case, SLAPP stands for a strategic lawsuit against public participation. There must be a balance that facilitates ordinary people who have the right to fight for their own good name and highlight wrongdoing by employers and companies.

The recommendation to make mediation an obligation may not be appropriate in certain circumstances, and this must be considered. This would include mediation in a defamation case between a couple where there is a background of domestic or coercive control. Requiring a survivor of abuse to sit in mediation with an abuser is wholly inappropriate.

We support the recommended requirements for solicitors to inform clients regarding alternative dispute resolution. One of the barriers facing people in defending their good name is a lack of knowledge. This recommendation, along with the inclusion of defamation in the Civil Legal Aid Act, will help to remove barriers.

The points under recommendation 5 seem to be broadly in line with the spirit of our recent Responsibility of Social Media Platforms (Defamation Amendment) Bill 2022, which was introduced seven weeks ago by my colleagues, na Teachtaí Kenny, Munster and Tully. This will allow an application for a Norwich Pharmacal order to be made to the Circuit Court. At present, only the High Court can make these orders which compel a third party service provider to disclose the identity of an anonymous poster of defamatory material.

In conclusion, people have the right to their good name and Sinn Féin will favour reforms that remove barriers for ordinary people to defend this right. However, we must keep in mind that people do not have a right to use defamation law to censor others or prevent journalists from reporting issues in the public interest. Anyone who has read the book Champagne Footballby Mark Tighe and Paul Rowan, which tells the inside story of John Delaney and the betrayal of Irish football, will know that laws can be abused and this Bill must take this into account.

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