Defamation Act 2009

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title and commencement.

1.— (1) This Act may be cited as the Defamation Act 2009.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint, by order or orders, either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so appointed for different purposes and different provisions.

2. Definitions.

2.— In this Act—

“Act of 1957” means the Statute of Limitations 1957;

“Act of 1961” means the Defamation Act 1961;

F1["Act of 2015" means the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015;]

“cause of action” means a cause of action for defamation;

“correction order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 30;

“declaratory order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 28;

“defamation” shall be construed in accordance with section 6 (2);

“defamation action” means—

(a) an action for damages for defamation, or

(b) an application for a declaratory order,

whether or not a claim for other relief under this Act is made;

“defamatory statement” means a statement that tends to injure a person’s reputation in the eyes of reasonable members of society, and “defamatory” shall be construed accordingly;

“defence of absolute privilege” has the meaning assigned to it by section 17;

“defence of qualified privilege” has the meaning assigned to it by section 18;

“defence of truth” has the meaning assigned to it by section 16;

“electronic communication” includes a communication of information in the form of data, text, images or sound (or any combination of these) by means of guided or unguided electromagnetic energy, or both;

“Minister” means the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform;

F2[“periodical”means—

(a) any newspaper, magazine, journal or other publication that is printed, published or issued, or that circulates, in the State at regular or substantially regular intervals and includes any version thereof published on the internet or by other electronic means, or

(b) any newspaper, magazine, journal or other publication that is published or issued, or that circulates, only on the internet or by other electronic means at regular or substantially regular intervals—

(i) by a publisher who is established in the State, or

(ii) the publication of which is specifically targeted at the general public, or a section of the general public, in the State;]

“plaintiff” includes a defendant counterclaiming in respect of a statement that is alleged to be defamatory;

“Press Council” has the meaning assigned to it by section 44;

“Press Ombudsman” has the meaning assigned to it by paragraph 8 of Schedule 2;

“qualified offer” has the meaning assigned to it by section 22;

“special damages” has the meaning assigned to it by section 31 (7);

“statement” includes—

(a) a statement made orally or in writing,

(b) visual images, sounds, gestures and any other method of signifying meaning,

(c) a statement—

(i) broadcast on the radio or television, or

(ii) published on the internet, and

(d) an electronic communication;

F3[…]

3. Saver.

3.— (1) A provision of this Act shall not affect causes of action accruing before its commencement.

(2) This Act shall not affect the operation of the general law in relation to defamation except to the extent that it provides otherwise (either expressly or by necessary implication).

4. Repeal.

4.— The Act of 1961 is repealed.

5. Review of operation of Act.

5.— (1) The Minister shall, not later than 5 years after the passing of this Act, commence a review of its operation.

(2) A review under subsection (1) shall be completed not later than one year after its commencement.

PART 2 Defamation

6. Defamation.

6.— (1) The tort of libel and the tort of slander—

(a) shall cease to be so described, and

(b) shall, instead, be collectively described, and are referred to in this Act, as the “ tort of defamation ”.

(2) The tort of defamation consists of the publication, by any means, of a defamatory statement concerning a person to one or more than one person (other than the first-mentioned person), and “ defamation ” shall be construed accordingly.

(3) A defamatory statement concerns a person if it could reasonably be understood as referring to him or her.

(4) There shall be no publication for the purposes of the tort of defamation if the defamatory statement concerned is published to the person to whom it relates and to a person other than the person to whom it relates in circumstances where—

(a) it was not intended that the statement would be published to the second-mentioned person, and

(b) it was not reasonably foreseeable that publication of the statement to the first-mentioned person would result in its being published to the second-mentioned person.

(5) The tort of defamation is actionable without proof of special damage.

7. Amendment of certain enactments.

7.— (1) Section 77 of the Courts of Justice Act 1924 is amended, in paragraph (i) (inserted by section 4(a) of the Courts Act 1991), by the substitution of “the tort of defamation” for the words “slander, libel”.

(2) The Civil Liability Act 1961 is amended—

(a) in section 11, by—

(i) the substitution, in subsection (5), of “defamatory statement” for the words “libel or slander”, and

(ii) the insertion of the following subsection:

“(7) In this section ‘ defamatory statement ’ has the same meaning as it has in the Defamation Act 2009.”,

and

(b) in section 14(6), by the substitution of “a defamation action under the Defamation Act 2009 ” for the words “an action for libel or slander”.

8. Verifying affidavit.

8.— (1) Where the plaintiff in a defamation action serves on the defendant any pleading containing assertions or allegations of fact, the plaintiff (or in the case of a defamation action brought on behalf of an infant or person of unsound mind by a next friend or a committee of the infant or person, the next friend or committee) shall swear an affidavit verifying those assertions or allegations.

(2) Where the defendant in a defamation action serves on the plaintiff any pleading containing assertions or allegations of fact, the defendant shall swear an affidavit verifying those assertions or allegations.

(3) Where a defamation action is brought on behalf of an infant or a person of unsound mind by a next friend or a committee of the infant or person, an affidavit to which subsection (1) applies sworn by the next friend or committee concerned shall, in respect of assertions or allegations, of which he or she does not have personal knowledge, state that he or she honestly believes the assertions or allegations, to be true.

(4) Where the plaintiff or defendant in a defamation action is a body corporate, the person swearing the affidavit on behalf of the body corporate under subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be, shall, in respect of assertions or allegations, of which he or she does not have personal knowledge, state that he or she honestly believes the assertions or allegations to be true.

(5) An affidavit under this section shall be sworn and filed in court not later than 2 months after the service of the pleading concerned or such longer period as the court may direct or the parties may agree.

(6) If a person makes a statement in an affidavit under this section—

(a) that is false or misleading in any material respect, and

(b) that he or she knows to be false or misleading,

he or she shall be guilty of an offence.

(7) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €3,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €50,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or to both.

(8) An affidavit sworn under this section shall include a statement by the deponent that he or she is aware that the making of a statement by him or her in the affidavit that is false or misleading in any material respect and that he or she knows to be false or misleading is an offence.

(9) In a defamation action—

(a) the defendant shall, unless the court otherwise directs, be entitled to cross examine the plaintiff in relation to any statement made by the plaintiff in the affidavit sworn by him or her under this section, and

(b) the plaintiff shall, unless the court otherwise directs, be entitled to cross examine the defendant in relation to any statement made by the defendant in the affidavit sworn by him or her under this section.

(10) Where a plaintiff or a defendant fails to comply with this section, the court may make such order as it considers just and equitable, including—

(a) in the case of such a failure on the part of the plaintiff, an order dismissing the defamation action, and

(b) in the case of such a failure by the defendant, judgment in favour of the plaintiff,

and may give such directions in relation to an order so made as the court considers necessary or expedient.

(11) The reference to court in subsection (5) shall—

(a) in the case of a defamation action brought in the High Court, include a reference to the Master of the High Court, and

(b) in the case of a defamation action brought in the Circuit Court, include a reference to the county registrar for the county in which the proceedings concerned were issued.

(12) (a) References in this section to plaintiff shall, in the case of a plaintiff who is deceased, be construed as references to his or her personal representative.

(b) References in this section to defendant shall, in the case of a defendant who is deceased, be construed as references to his or her personal representative.

(13) This section does not apply to an application for a declaratory order.

9. Imputation.

9.— A person has one cause of action only in respect of the publication of a defamatory statement concerning the person even if more than one defamatory imputation in respect of that person is borne by that statement.

10. Defamation of class of persons.

10.— Where a person publishes a defamatory statement concerning a class of persons, a member of that class shall have a cause of action under this Act against that person if—

(a) by reason of the number of persons who are members of that class, or

(b) by virtue of the circumstances in which the statement is published,

the statement could reasonably be understood to refer, in particular, to the member concerned.

11. Multiple publication.

11.— (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person has one cause of action only in respect of a multiple publication.

(2) A court may grant leave to a person to bring more than one defamation action in respect of a multiple publication where it considers that the interests of justice so require.

(3) In this section “ multiple publication ” means publication by a person of the same defamatory statement to 2 or more persons (other than the person in respect of whom the statement is made) whether contemporaneously or not.

12. F4[Defamation of body corporate

12.(1) The provisions of this Act apply to a body corporate as they apply to a natural person, and a body corporate may bring a defamation action under this Act in respect of a statement concerning it that it claims is defamatory.

(2) A statement concerning a body corporate that is made on or after the date of the coming into operation of section 6 of the Defamation (Amendment) Act 2026 is not defamatory unless its publication has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to the reputation of the body corporate.

(3) Harm to the reputation of a body corporate that trades for profit shall not be considered to be serious harm for the purposes ofsubsection (2)unless it has caused, or is likely to cause, the body corporate serious financial loss.]

13. Appeals in defamation actions.

13.— (1) Upon the hearing of an appeal from a decision of the High Court in a defamation action, the Supreme Court may, in addition to any other order that it deems appropriate to make, substitute for any amount of damages awarded to the plaintiff by the High Court such amount as it considers appropriate.

(2) F5[…]

14. Meaning.

14.— (1) The court, in a defamation action, may give a ruling—

(a) as to whether the statement in respect of which the action was brought is reasonably capable of bearing the imputation pleaded by the plaintiff, and

(b) (where the court rules that that statement is reasonably capable of bearing that imputation) as to whether that imputation is reasonably capable of bearing a defamatory meaning,

upon an application being made to it in that behalf.

(2) Where a court rules under subsection (1) that—

(a) the statement in respect of which the action was brought is not reasonably capable of bearing the imputation pleaded by the plaintiff, or

(b) that any imputation so pleaded is not reasonably capable of bearing a defamatory meaning,

it shall dismiss the action in so far only as it relates to the imputation concerned.

(3) An application under this section shall be brought by notice of motion F6[…].

(4) An application under this section may be brought at any time after the bringing of the defamation action concerned including during the course of the trial of the action.

PART 3 Defences

15. Abolition of certain defences.

15.— (1) Subject to sections 17(1) and 18(1), any defence that, immediately before the commencement of this Part, could have been pleaded as a defence in an action for libel or slander is abolished.

(2) In this section—

“defence” shall not include a defence under—

(a) statute,

(b) an act of the institutions of the European Communities, or

(c) regulations made for the purpose of giving effect to an act of the institutions of the European Communities;

“European Communities” has the same meaning as it has in the European Communities Act 1972;

“statute” means—

(a) an Act of the Oireachtas, or

(b) a statute that was in force in Saorstát Éireann immediately before the date of the coming into operation of the Constitution and that continues to be of full force and effect by virtue of Article 50 of the Constitution.

16. Truth.

16.— (1) It shall be a defence (to be known and in this Act referred to as the “defence of truth”) to a defamation action for the defendant to prove that the statement in respect of which the action was brought is true in all material respects.

(2) In a defamation action in respect of a statement containing 2 or more distinct allegations against the plaintiff, the defence of truth shall not fail by reason only of the truth of every allegation not being proved, if the words not proved to be true do not materially injure the plaintiff’s reputation having regard to the truth of the remaining allegations.

17. Absolute privilege.

17.— (1) It shall be a defence to a defamation action for the defendant to prove that the statement in respect of which the action was brought would, if it had been made immediately before the commencement of this section, have been considered under the law in force immediately before such commencement as having been made on an occasion of absolute privilege.

(2) Subject to F7[section 18 (3) or 78 (2) of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act 2013], and without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), it shall be a defence to a defamation action for the defendant to prove that the statement in respect of which the action was brought was—

(a) made in either House of the Oireachtas by a member of either House of the Oireachtas,

(b) contained in a report of a statement, to which paragraph (a) applies, produced by or on the authority of either such House,

(c) made in the European Parliament by a member of that Parliament,

(d) contained in a report of a statement, to which paragraph (c) applies, produced by or on the authority of the European Parliament,

(e) contained in a judgment of a court established by law in the State,

(f) made by a judge, or other person, performing a judicial function,

(g) made by a party, witness, legal representative or juror in the course of proceedings presided over by a judge, or other person, performing a judicial function,

(h) made in the course of proceedings involving the exercise of limited functions and powers of a judicial nature in accordance with Article 37 of the Constitution, where the statement is connected with those proceedings,

F8[(i) a fair and accurate report of proceedings publicly heard before, or a decision made public by, any court (including a court-martial)—

(i) established by law in the State,

(ii) established under the law of Northern Ireland, or

(iii) established under the law of any other state or place,]

(j) a fair and accurate report of proceedings to which a relevant enactment referred to in section 40 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 applies,

(k) a fair and accurate report of proceedings publicly heard before, or decision made public by, any court or arbitral tribunal established by an international agreement to which the State is a party including the Court of Justice of the European Communities, the Court of First Instance of the European Communities, the European Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice,

(l) made in proceedings before a committee appointed by either House of the Oireachtas or jointly by both Houses of the Oireachtas,

(m) made in proceedings before a committee of the European Parliament,

(n) made in the course of proceedings before a tribunal established under the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Acts 1921 to 2004, where the statement is connected with those proceedings,

(o) contained in a report of any such tribunal,