Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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10. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the way she will address defamation of persons which occurs online; her views on amending the law to allow for defamation cases online to be dealt with in a more-cost effective and timely manner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6990/15]

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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On many occasions, we have discussed the issue of cybercrime and cyberbullying in this House. It is an issue about which we all share a huge concern because of some of the consequences of it, in particular on the younger members of the community. However, there is also the issue of defamation online. We all know of instances where people believe they have been defamed online, of the difficulties they have experienced in trying to have that situation corrected and of the avenues available to them to seek justice if they believe they have been defamed or their character or good name has been taken. What are the Minister's plans to address defamation online?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, the law on defamation in the State was reformed in the Defamation Act 2009. It is important to say the Act draws no distinction between online, print or broadcast media and provides for a number of remedies. The primary relief under the Act is an award of damages with a jury deciding the amount to be awarded if the defamation action is successful. Either nominal or compensatory damages can be awarded. Given the nature of online defamation, the priority for the plaintiff might be to have the defamatory statement removed. Under section 33 of the 2009 Act, a plaintiff may seek a court order prohibiting the publication or further publication of a defamatory statement. Injunctions are an important remedy in responding to online defamation.

As the Deputy knows, the print media are regulated by the independent Press Council of Ireland which was granted recognition under the Act. The complaints system operated by the Press Council provides a useful, efficient and cost free remedy for members of the public who are affected in the way the Deputy described.

The e-commerce directive, Council Directive (EC) 2000/31, which comes within the remit of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, sets down a number of provisions regarding the duties and obligations of website providers, including to remove potentially defamatory material when notified. There is now evidence of a trend across Europe of courts imposing greater responsibility on online service providers for user-generated online content.

Recently, I held a meeting in Farmleigh House with all of the Internet service providers in this country to discuss their responsibilities, how we can work with them and what legislation is needed, if more is needed, to deal with the online issues which are increasingly a feature of our lives. These companies are taking a huge range of initiatives to ensure personal online safety and they are interrupting criminal material when posted online. We see this, in particular, in the area of child sexual abuse online which, sadly, is a growing feature of online activity.

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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There are two dimensions to online defamation. There is the overt dimension where somebody who engages in online defamation is readily identifiable and then there is the covert dimension where somebody uses an alias and opens up an account with a bogus name and engages in online abuse and defamation. There are two dimensions to it which the Government needs to consider addressing in a radical manner because it is a source of huge concern. We know of the bullying of younger members of society. Ordinary decent people, who are entitled to their good name, often find themselves at an exceptional disadvantage. My Fianna Fáil colleague, Senator Thomas Byrne, had to go to the courts to get a court order to get Google to act in regard to something about him which was not true but which was available. That was not good enough. Does the Minister have plans to introduce legislation to deal with the overt and covert dimensions?

I accept that she met the Internet service providers. That was a welcome move, but they need to be in a position to act faster to acknowledge their role as a stakeholder in the act of defamation. They might not be the people who wrote it, but they are the people who are broadcasting it.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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This is an increasing focus among the providers. They are taking many more initiatives than people are aware of, where there is any indication of criminal activity online. For example, more efforts are being made to keep the online evidence, which can effectively be, as the Deputy describes it, a crime scene - we have to think about it like that. There are more and more initiatives coming from the Internet service providers. The Law Reform Commission is examining this area in its fourth programme of law reform, which commenced in 2013. One of the projects it is looking at is crime affecting personal safety, privacy and reputation, including cyberbullying, which is the point the Deputy is raising. I look forward to getting that. It has asked for submissions and is examining a number of points relating to this issue such as the efficacy of injunctions, the relevance of damages or remedy when the harm caused by online defamation is in many ways irreversible and the cost of civil proceedings. It put a number of questions for public response or submission regarding what remedies or reforms should be provided. I will be guided by that law reform report when I receive it in the near future.