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Irish defamation law ‘a constraint on media freedom’ Ireland’s defamation laws “raise concerns as regards the ability of the press to expose corruption”, the European Commissioner for Justice has stated. Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders addressed the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs in March and underlined concerns in the EU around the frequent use and high costs of defamation cases in Ireland. Reynders was in Ireland to discuss the EU Commission’s Rule of Law report, which produced specific country chapters for each member state. It includes analysis on the topics of judicial independence, media plurality and anticorruption measures. Published in September 2020, the first annual report on the Rule of Law across the European Union is intended to kickstart an inclusive debate on rule of law culture across the EU. Ireland’s defamation laws are amongst the strictest in Europe and there has long been calls for reform of the laws by those who believe that the bar for lawsuits is set too low. Around 80 per cent of all defamation actions in Ireland are brought against the media. Damages in a defamation case can be extremely expensive and the prospect of such costs, in addition to legal costs,
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means that the majority of libel cases have traditionally been settled before coming to court. When the Defamation Act 2009 first came into force, it was envisaged that the Minister for Justice would complete a review of its operation within one year, however, despite repeated efforts over the last decade to progress a review, none have been completed. Responding to a comment by Senator Michael McDowell, who when Minister for Justice in the early 2000s initiated reforms of the defamation law, that Irish defamation law is “a little bit suffocating of investigative journalism”, Reynders added: “The report indicates that frequent defamation legal cases, the high cost of defence and the high damages awarded by the Irish courts are seen as an inducement to self-censorship and a constraint on media freedom.” The Commissioner says that this “works to the detriment of the fight against corruption”. Ireland’s Programme for Government has set out an ambition for the Government to review and reform defamation laws,
aiming to “ensure a balanced approach to the right to freedom of expression, the right to protection of good name and reputation, and the right of access to justice”. Noting that the Government has pledged to reform defamation laws, Reynders said that ensuring a balance between freedom of expressions, the right to the protection of reputation, and the right of access to justice, is very important. In February 2021, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee TD, published the Government’s Justice Plan 2021, which included amongst 200 actions to be implemented in the next 12 months, a pledge to review and reform defamation laws. The plan set out intentions to complete and publish a statutory review of the Defamation Act 2009 by quarter one of 2021 and to prepare a Scheme of Defamation (Amendment) Bill by quarter four.
Rule of Law Reynders opened his address to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on
