An industry group representing newspapers has called for the “urgent completion” of a Government review into Ireland’s defamation laws. Newsbrands Ireland said the ongoing review of the Defamation Act was now six years overdue. Ireland’s restrictive defamation laws have long been criticised by the media, as constraining investigative journalism. Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on Monday, Newsbrands Ireland called for the review of the defamation laws to be completed “without delay”, and the findings published. The United Kingdom introduced a similar clause into its defamation laws a number of years ago, aimed at discouraging trivial claims.

Source: The Irish Times May 02, 2021 06:00 UTC