Gabhaim buíochas leis na Seanadóirí agus aontaím leo. I thank all the Senators who have contributed. I note what Senators Kelleher and Gallagher had to say in respect of the issue of insolvency. I agree it is really important that we have harmonisation across the EU when it comes to insolvency proceedings. If we are going to be able to do business with other countries within the EU without any barriers, it is very important we are able to have the same rules in order that we can apply insolvency laws in those same …

I move: That Dáil Éireann resolves that the period of operation of sections 1 to 7 and 9 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 (No. 14 of 2021) be extended for a period of 6 months, beginning on the 1st day of June, 2025 and ending on the 30th day of November, 2025. Five years ago, we were all caught up in the events that arose from Covid. It had a remarkable impact, not just on the lives of Irish people but also in terms of the way business was done throughout the country. It also impacted the way b…

I did not guarantee it.

Yes.

They are outside.

I thank all Deputies for their contributions. There is general agreement in the House that outdoor seating is a good development from the point of view of the hospitality sector and the people who go to pubs and restaurants and like to sit outside. It is also fairly clear that there is broad recognition, including from myself, that the process by which we renew this for six months needs to come to an end at some stage through permanent legislation. That is why, I repeat, I am pleased to say that I got approval from…

I thank Senator Fitzpatrick for bringing forward the Bill. It is the second time during her tenure as a Senator in this term that she has raised the issue of retail crime with me. I discussed the issue with her on a previous occasion a number of weeks ago. I also want to commend and acknowledge the other Senators who have spoken. This is the second time I have been before this House in response to a Private Members' Bill. I have not been before the other House for a Private Members' Bill yet. I am not trying to den…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2015/848 on insolvency pro…

I thank colleagues for their contributions, to which I will respond presently. This is the first opportunity I have had since I was appointed as Minister for Justice to speak on the Defamation (Amendment) Bill. I was not, as is apparent, Minister for Justice when the House debated Second Stage. It is important that I, as Minister, acknowledge the difficult role the Oireachtas is trying to perform when it comes to enacting defamation legislation. We are trying to balance two competing constitutional rights. On one h…

Similarly, there are many great advantages to being a member of a political party but there are also disadvantages, as I am sure the other Deputies here will acknowledge. One of the consequences of membership of a political party is the need for compromise. There has been a general election since the Second Stage debate. Fianna Fáil put forward a manifesto, which I supported. It included a requirement that the defamation Bill that was going through the Houses of the Oireachtas be enacted. There was then a debate be…

Is that the definition of "periodical"?

I thank Deputies for their contributions. I will try to deal with the issues they raised. Deputy Carthy spoke about the definition of "periodical" in section 3. I am happy to give consideration to an amendment, if the Deputy tables it on Report Stage, which he has indicated he will do. At present, however, I am not fully aware of the detail of what he proposed but, as I said, I will give consideration to any amendment he puts down. Deputy Carthy also spoke about how the media can publish lies. Generally, when it co…

I am not looking around for entities that are supportive of this but there clearly are. Deputy Sherlock previously mentioned ISME. I suspect ISME is important but they are not the guiding people. I do not look for outside bodies to dictate to me as to what I should or should not do in the Houses of the Oireachtas. Ultimately, it was in the Fianna Fáil manifesto, it is part of the programme for Government and Members of the Oireachtas will determine it.

I will be brief. Section 5 is consequential upon what happened to section 4. We voted to retain section 4. I note the opposition of Deputies Gannon and Carthy to section 5, but the fact that section 4 has been approved by the House means that section 5 should stay. I am retaining this section.

One of the issues that was considered by the Department was whether we would include in the legislation a serious harm test as at present applies in England and Wales. It was decided that it would not be introduced or proposed in respect of personal plaintiffs, people who claim that they were defamed. The reason it was not proposed to look for a serious harm test is that the experience in the United Kingdom has been that it does not really achieve much. All it does is it sets in another interlocutory hearing for th…

I certainly will give more detailed consideration to it in light of what the Deputy said. Dealing with the two examples the Deputy gave, the local shop in most situations, I would have thought, is not a corporate entity but is just owned by the local people. Let us assume that it is a corporate entity and they decided to run the shop under the auspices of a company. Let us say somebody suggests the shop is selling produce which is out of date. That is clearly defamatory and damaging to the reputation of that compan…

I thank the Deputy for the contribution. In a situation like that, if an individual was very associated with a company, the individual could take an action in their own name on the basis that they have been defamed because an entity with which they are very clearly associated, and it is known to the public that they are associated, has been defamed. In that instance, an individual could take a defamation action in respect of it. It is difficult to give categoric assurances in respect of the type of example the Depu…

This section proposes an amendment to section 17 of the Defamation Act. That section sets out what is protected by the defence of absolute privilege. For instance, any statement made in this House is absolutely privileged. No matter what Deputy Carthy were to say about me, even if it were grossly defamatory, if I issued proceedings against him he would get the proceedings struck out on the basis that that was said in Dáil Éireann, where absolute privilege applies. Also, the list in section 17 includes statements ma…

Maybe he is on his way.

I commend Deputy Carthy on managing to talk on to allow Deputy Gannon to get time to come here. I share his objective that we ensure that better protections are provided for those who are targeted by SLAPPs. Fortunately, however, in Ireland we do not experience SLAPPs in the same way as I think other, more populous jurisdictions have experienced them in recent years. Notwithstanding that, it is important we have in place legislation to respond to them and also it is part of our obligation to transpose the EU direct…