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. 14:
In page 10, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following:
“(4) In deciding whether publication of a statement to the public at large or any section thereof was fair a court may have regard to—
(a) the extent to which the statement concerned refers to the performance by the person of his or her public functions,
(b) the seriousness of any allegations made in the statement,
(c) the context and content (including the language used) of the statement,
(d) the extent to which the statement drew a distinction between suspicions, allegations and facts, and
(e) the extent to which there were particular circumstances justifying the publication of the statement at the time of publication.”.

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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