Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-21
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Michael McDowell (IND), National University of Ireland

I move amendment No. 1:
In page 6, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following:
“(2) A party to a defamation action in the High Court may apply to the President of the High Court for an order permitting the trial of the action with a jury in any or all of the following circumstances:
(a) that by reason of the exceptional nature of the case or the identity of one or more of the parties in the case, it is preferable that it should be tried with a jury, or
(b) that the claim or counterclaim in the proceedings includes other issues triable in the High Court with a jury and that the interests of justice would be served by the trial of the claim in defamation with a jury.
(3) Where a trial with a jury is ordered under subsection (2) , the jury shall not decide the amount of any damages to be awarded for defamation but shall be entitled by its verdict to decide whether aggravated or exemplary damages be awarded.
(4) In any case to which subsection (3) applies, the trial judge shall determine the amount of any damages, including any aggravated or exemplary damages, to which a party is found to be entitled by the jury.”.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:31+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-21