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Irish Times
an hour ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Dáil passes Defamation Bill by 83 votes to 61
Retailers should fight false defamation claims and 'not take the easy route' of paying out because that just encourages further claims, Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has warned. He was highlighting a new defence for retailers subjected to defamation claims for challenging people on whether they had paid for goods before leaving a shop. The provision is part of the Defamation (Amendment) Bill, which includes the abolition of juries in such cases and protections for media organisations against strategic lawsuits against public participation (Slapps), actions taken by usually rich or powerful individuals designed to intimidate media organisations in their coverage of such people. The Dáil on Wednesday night passed the legislation by 83 votes to 61 and it now goes to the Seanad . READ MORE Mr O'Callaghan said there had been 'ill-informed inaccurate commentary' that he had amended provisions of the Bill on protections for retailers. This was 'completely incorrect'. The Minister said the provision was a 'very powerful defence' and this power was to 'ensure that they aren't subjected to unnecessary defamation actions'. Sinn Féin justice spokesman Matt Carthy suggested the Minister talk to retailers because a representative group member had expressed 'real concerns' to him that the provision would not do what it was supposed to. Claims are encouraged when retailers have a 'tendency not to contest', Mr O'Callaghan said. If retailers contest claims which are not valid, 'the message will go out to litigants there is no point in taking those claims', he added. The Minister also said politicians 'should have a thick skin' about commentary in traditional media and 'perhaps we should also have a thick skin when it comes to comments made about us online, although that's a matter for each individual politician'. Introducing a measure to provide protections to individuals against online defamation, he said 'there has to be a statutory response' where 'really egregious defamatory statements are made about an individual falsely accusing them of the most heinous and serious offences'. The Bill also contains a provision to protect media organisations on occasions 'where a responsible journalist may have made a mistake in one or two details'. It was not Mr O'Callaghan's experience that 'the media has gone out of their way to tell lies'. But Mr Carthy said the Minister was saying this 'from the luxury' of representing Fianna Fáil . It was his experience as a Sinn Féin representative that 'there have been instances where our media outlets have published downright lies about my party and they done so knowing that [they] were lies'.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Police ombudsman investigating circumstances of Evan Fitzgerald's death
Officials from Fiosrú, the Police Ombudsman, are investigating the circumstances around the death of Evan Fitzgerald, who took his life in a Carlow shopping centre last month. Investigators from the ombudsman's office are in close contact with the Fitzgerald family and providing them with regular updates, sources said. The investigation is mandated under law as the 22-year-old from Wicklow had interactions with the gardaí around the time of his death, which occurred on June 1st in Fairgreen Shopping Centre. Mr Fitzgerald fired several shots into the air using a stolen shotgun before turning the gun on himself. However, Fiosrú also confirmed it is not investigating two other referrals relating to the actions gardaí took while investigating Mr Fitzgerald for possession of firearms last March. READ MORE Politicians have accused gardaí of attempting to 'entrap' the young man during the investigation and of misleading a judge. An Garda Síochána has strongly denied the accusations and said it used standard, internationally accepted tactics to protect the safety of the public. On Monday, Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan declined to comment on the matter until two linked court cases are completed. A spokesman for the Minister said he has been briefed by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on the case 'both orally and in writing'. Speaking to The Irish Times on Monday, a spokeswoman for Fiosrú detailed its activity in relation to the case. She said on the day after Mr Fitzgerald's death, it received a referral from a Garda superintendent under section 203 (1) of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024. [ Carlow gunman Evan Fitzgerald had other weapons Opens in new window ] [ How 'controlled deliveries' are used in Garda sting operations Opens in new window ] This mandates that An Garda Síochána must refer any case to the Ombudsman where it appears 'that the act or omission of a member of garda personnel may have resulted in the death of, or serious harm to, a person'. Mr Fitzgerald took his life after armed gardaí arrived on the scene in response to reports of gunfire. Gardaí did not fire any rounds. Fiosrú confirmed it has appointed a senior officer to conduct the investigation. 'This matter remains open and under investigation. Fiosrú has and will continue to liaise with Evan Fitzgerald's family in this regard,' the spokeswoman said. Separately, she said the ombudsman received 'a notification of an incident of concern' on May 21st relating to the case. It is understood the referral related to allegations that gardaí had mislead a District Court judge during a previous bail hearing for Mr Fitzgerald. During the hearing, the judge was told gardaí were still investigating the source of the firearms Mr Fitzgerald had in his possession when he was stopped by members of the Emergency Response Unit in March. It later emerged that undercover gardaí sold him the two guns after being tipped off that Mr Fitzgerald was attempting to source weapons on the internet. Both weapons had been decommissioned by gardaí. One of them was a G3 assault rifle stolen by the IRA from Norwegian reserves in 1984 and recovered more than 20 years ago. Labour TD Alan Kelly and Independent senator Michael McDowell have characterised the operation as 'entrapment' of Mr Fitzgerald. Fiosrú said that on receiving the complaint it had requested further information from gardaí. After examining this, it opted not to open an investigation. Last Wednesday, Fiosrú received a further referral relating to An Garda Síochána action, this time from the commissioner. Mr Harris made the referral after politicians accused the force of misleading the court. Again, the ombudsman's office decided the matter did not warrant a full investigation. 'As the matters concerned were the same in substance as those outlined in the previous notification of 21st of May 2025, there was nothing further to be considered by Fiosrú,' the spokeswoman said, adding that it cannot, by law, make any further comment for the moment. Speaking last week, the commissioner defended An Garda Síochána's actions in the case and raised the recent school shooting 'by a lone gunman' in Austria, which left 11 people dead. 'This is sadly a more frequent occurrence,' he said. 'There is very insidious material on the internet which seeks to radicalise young people. We have to look at the individual and the threat to the general public and deal with that appropriately. 'I have to say, this was a very successful operation in that we made sure a threat to the public did not arise from the circumstances we were dealing with.'
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Garda trainees suspended after allegedly handcuffing fellow trainee
Five trainees at the Garda College have been suspended after an incident in which they allegedly handcuffed and then threw the trainee into a shower. The incident occurred at the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary on Thursday and an internal investigation has been launched. Advertisement Two sources close to the Garda College told that the victim of the incident is considering dropping out. The incident was described as a "prank" by those involved, but the victim is adamant this was not the case. In response to a query about the alleged incident, a Garda spokesperson said: "An Garda Síochána does not comment on ongoing internal investigations." Numbers at the Garda College have been boosted as part of the Government's attempt to strengthen the force. Speaking after the latest intake, Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan said: "This Government is fully committed to strengthening An Garda Síochána by 5,000 members over the next five years. "We have already taken a number of significant measures to boost recruitment and we will continue to explore all options. More and more Gardaí are coming through this College and onto our streets, and this shows these measures are working. "I have made increasing recruitment to An Garda Síochána a priority issue. More Gardaí in our cities, villages, and towns is fundamental to achieving our goal of ensuring people are safe and feel safe.'
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Justice plan to overhaul local community safety partnerships to replace joint policing committees
Membership of key liaison groups between communities and gardaí focused on local policing and safety is to be expanded, under new regulations coming into force on Monday. Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has signed regulations which will replace joint policing committees (JPCs) with new local community safety partnerships (LCSPs) and govern how the new structures will operate. The move comes after concerns were outlined by some on local authorities, including Dublin City Council , about the new structure. Government sources said there were measures to in the new system safeguard the position of local politicians, however. READ MORE There will be mandatory representatives among the membership from local authorities, with one LCSP set up in each of the 36 local authority areas around the country. Each one will also feature representation from An Garda Síochána , the Health Service Executive and a representative of child and family agency Tusla . Seven elected members from each local authority will be nominated to each partnership by the county or city council, with other local politicians given opportunities to engage with them directly. They will also include a wider membership than their predecessors, with residents, local councillors, members representing younger and older people and minority groups eligible to sit on the bodies. Business and education representatives will also be included, with up to 30 members allowed on each body. They will be mandated to hold at least six meetings per year, with no upper ceiling put on the number of times they can convene. Members of the public must be allowed to attend at least one of the meetings, and representatives of the Oireachtas and the relevant local authority will also be invited to attend at least one of the annual meetings. A voluntary chairperson and a vice-chairperson will be elected from among the membership, with each partnership required to develop and implement a tailored community safety plan. The decision to replace the JPCs had faced criticism from some local authority members, who claimed they would downgrade the role held by county and city councillors. In 2023 the then minister for justice Helen McEntee moved to reassure councillors that their role would not be marginalised, and that legislation and regulations underpinning the new structures would make it explicit that they could chair community safety partnerships. Mr O'Callaghan argued that the establishment of the partnerships 'marks a significant step toward a more collaborative, responsive and locally driven approach to community safety'. He added that while Ireland is generally regarded as a safe country with relatively low crime rates, the reality is different for some communities. 'We need the structures put in place at a local level so longer-term solutions which are not focused solely on policing can be put in place. Bad public lighting, waste collection, poor planning of public spaces, the location of services all contribute to feelings of safety in our towns,' he said.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Isme says 17% rise in personal injury payout is ‘capitulation to vested interests'
Small business lobby group Isme says Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan 's support for an increase in the scale of personal injury awards is a capitulation to vested legal interests. It says the move undermines years of work to bring down insurance costs for SMEs and consumers. Mr O'Callaghan is due to bring a proposal to Cabinet next week to raise personal injury awards by 17 per cent on the back of a recommendation from the Judicial Council. The board of the Judicial Council is required by law to review the guidelines every three years and proposed last December that payments should rise by 16.7 per cent. READ MORE That recommendation was adopted by the council of the State's judges in late January and passed over to Mr O'Callaghan, who must put the amendments before the Houses of the Oireachtas for approval. ISME say the increase would lead to increases in insurance premiums for both businesses and consumers and 'would take money directly from small businesses and into the pockets of lawyers'. 'This proposed increase is indefensible,' said Isme chief executive Neil McDonnell . 'It rewards a highly profitable legal industry and punishes honest employers, retailers and community organisations. 'Insurance costs have not fallen following previous reforms, and now the Government wants to undo the little progress that has been made,' he said. Isme says the judiciary should be removed from any involvement in setting the level of awards which, it argues, should be delegated to an independent expert body such as the Personal Injuries Resolution Board or the Workplace Relations Commission. 'Not alone is there no justification for an increase in personal injuries awards, but the final report of the Personal Injuries Commission suggests that awards should be reduced by at least a further 30 per cent,' Mr McDonnell said. He noted that Ireland already has much higher personal injury payouts than other comparable countries and 14 times more personal injury cases than England and Wales, despite a population that is just one -twelfth of those two countries. Isme is already in conflict with Government over changes in the Defamation Amendment Bill, now being prepared for Cabinet, which, it says, has been stripped of its most meaningful reforms and will fail to protect small businesses. 'The Defamation Amendment Bill as currently drafted is utterly inadequate, and requires at a minimum the insertion of a serious harm test, a cap on damages and penalisation of SLAPP lawsuits,' Isme says. SLAPP lawsuits, or strategic lawsuits against public participation, are lawsuits whose purpose is to intimidate or silence another party.
