Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)

This week, the UN special rapporteur on environmental issues has written to the Government and to the Chief State Solicitor's Office seeking urgent action in relation to court proceedings which order An Garda Síochána to hand over confidential complaints for use in a defamation case. He stated that the Chief State Solicitor must oppose that action. He has stated that it would imperil the right of citizens to confidentially engage with gardaí in the future. A citizen in Meath has challenged alleged environmental damage by a large quarry company but he has been hit with two SLAPP litigations and is threatened with three more. These litigations are not designed to be heard but they threaten financial ruin on the individual and they completely tie that individual up for years. The aim is to shut campaigners up. I have raised this with two previous Ministers for justice. Now that a UN special rapporteur has condemned the practice and has highlighted the damage it does to the wider justice system, will the Tánaiste demand that the Chief State Solicitor defend the justice system, or at the very least will the Minister for justice meet with the target of these SLAPP litigations?

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