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Following the enactment of the Defamation (Amendment) Act 2026 (the "Act") on 19 February 2026, the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O'Callaghan, signed the Defamation (Amendment) Act (Commencement) Order 2026 on 25 February 2026.
The commencement order provides for a number of the Act's key substantive reforms to come into operation on 1 March 2026, which will mark a significant milestone in the overhaul of Irish defamation law.
As outlined in a Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration press release, the provisions to be commenced include reforms relating to:
- the role of juries in High Court defamation proceedings;
- the statutory jurisdiction of the Circuit Court to make orders requiring the identification of anonymous posters of defamatory material;
- amendments to, and simplification of, the defence of fair publication in the public interest;
- the introduction of new statutory defences for retail defamation and live broadcasting;
- the introduction of a "serious harm" test for defamation claims brought by bodies corporate; and
- measures encouraging alternative dispute resolution, including revisions to the offer of amends procedure.
The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has signalled that Part 7 of the Act, concerning strategic lawsuits against public participation will be commenced at a later date, to allow for alignment with the Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation Bill, the General Scheme of which was published on 11 February 2026.
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