Opposition challenge removal of juries in High Court defamation cases
Opposition parties have tabled a series of amendments opposing the removal of juries in High Court defamation actions.
Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy told the Dáil that he is opposed to what is the centrepiece of the Government's Defamation Bill, and said that many in the legal profession shared his party's concerns.
He proposed deleting the entire section dealing with the measure, and asked to know whether the current Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan, plans to proceed with the bill as it is, as it had been prepared by his predecessor.
Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said that juries play an important role and "ensure fairness", especially where "powerful entities" are concerned.
Abolishing them "would make Ireland an outlier", he said, and insisted that there is no evidence that jury trials are more costly.
Independent TD Catherine Connolly asked if the Government is "intent on ramming this through", and called on Minister O'Callaghan to show "moral courage" in dropping the measure.
"I wouldn't like to be sitting in your position now and having to eat my words," she said, and quoted remarks the minister had made during an earlier stage of the bill - and before his appointment as minister - where he said: "the decision to abolish juries in the High Court would be short-sighted".
Sherlock warns that bill is 'now out of date'
Labour's Marie Sherlock expressed "serious concerns with key elements of this bill", and warned that it is "now out of date".
She said that legal fees in defamation cases are higher than in any other civil action, and said the bill should be used to change that practice.
The Defamation Bill was published last year, and aims to reduce costs for those seeking to defend their good name, including in relation to anonymous online trolls.
Currently, this can only be done in the High Court.
The bill would also introduce protection against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or "SLAPPs", which are often taken against individual journalists and are widely seen as a threat to press freedom.
Minister O'Callaghan defended the measures in the bill, and said he would be opposing the various amendments tabled this evening.
He noted the remarks of his which Deputy Connolly had quoted, and said that since then, there has been a General Election, during which his party's manifesto had promised to enact the bill.
He said that being in a political party requires compromise, unlike being an independent, and rejected the suggestion that the removal of juries was a moral matter.
The minister said that he is "bound by the terms of the Programme for Government."
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