I will reply to the point Deputy Carthy made about section 8. It got some publicity as well around the fact that it was suggested I had deliberately changed the provisions of section 8 to suit myself, or for some purpose that was not in the public interest. As Deputy Carthy knows, that is not correct because he was here on 2 August last year when the Bill was introduced and there has been no change to section 8 since…
TDs / Jim O'Callaghan
Jim O'Callaghan
Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
13
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
306,120
words spoken in the chamber
304,929 as a minister, 1,191 as a TD
360
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
8
topics asked about
Across 6 departments
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
What they ask about
The subject headings the Oireachtas filed their questions under.
Who they ask
The departments their questions were addressed to.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Questions asked 13 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 1,001 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 13 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 0 | 17 |
| March 2025 | 0 | 45 |
| April 2025 | 0 | 34 |
| May 2025 | 0 | 33 |
| June 2025 | 0 | 44 |
| July 2025 | 0 | 88 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 | 95 |
| October 2025 | 0 | 65 |
| November 2025 | 0 | 11 |
| December 2025 | 0 | 41 |
| January 2026 | 0 | 71 |
| February 2026 | 0 | 68 |
| March 2026 | 0 | 83 |
| April 2026 | 0 | 45 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 73 |
| June 2026 | 0 | 49 |
| July 2026 | 0 | 81 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 0 | 11 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 47 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 598 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
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Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Dublin Bay South 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister for Justice 23 January 2025 to 4 June 2025
- office Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration 5 June 2025 to now
I move amendment No. 11:
In page 8, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following:
“(2) The amendment effected by paragraph (a) of subsection (1) shall apply only to causes of action accruing on or after the date of the coming into operation of this section.”.
I move amendment No. 12:
In page 8, between lines 31 and 32, to insert the following:
“(2) The amendments effected by subsection (1) shall apply only to causes of action accruing on or after the date of the coming into operation of this section.”.
I move amendment No. 13:
In page 9, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following:
“(2) The amendment effected by subsection (1) shall apply only to causes of action accruing on or after the date of the coming into operation of this section.”.
I move amendment No. 14:
In page 9, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following:
“(2) The amendment effected by subsection (1) shall apply only to causes of action accruing on or after the date of the coming into operation of this section.”.
I move amendment No. 15:
In page 9, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following:
“Defence of publication on matter of public interest
11. (1) The Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 26:
“Publication on matter of public interest
26. (1) It shall be a defence (to be known as the ‘defence of publication on a matter of public interest’) to a defamation action for th…
I will be brief in response. I note what Deputy Carthy said about the provenance of the Reynolds defence, which emanated from the British House of Lords. I am not trying to open up old wounds, but the jury system came from the British system of justice that operated in Ireland. I will not go back on that.
Deputy Carthy said that people should not tell lies. Everyone agrees with that. However, most defamation actions…
I move amendment No. 16:
In page 9, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following:
"Abolition of Reynolds defence
12. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 26:
“Abolition of Reynolds defence
26A. (1) Any common law defence known as the Reynolds defence that, immediately before the commencement of section 12 of the Defamation (Amendment) Act 2025, could have been …
I move amendment No. 17:
In page 10, after line 37, to insert the following:
"(2) The amendment effected by subsection (1) shall apply only to causes of action accruing on or after the date of the coming into operation of this section.".
I move amendment No. 18:
In page 11, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following:
"(2) The amendments effected by subsection (1) shall apply only to applications under section 28 of the Principal Act made on or after the date of the coming into operation of this section.".
I move amendment No. 19:
In page 11, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following:
“(2) The amendment effected by subsection (1) shall apply only to actions for damages for defamation brought on or after the date of the coming into operation of this section.”.
I move amendment No. 20:
In page 11, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following:
“(2) The amendments effected by subsection (1) shall apply only to defamation actions brought on or after the date of the coming into operation of this section.”.
I move amendment No. 21:
In page 11, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following:
“(2) The amendment effected by subsection (1) shall apply only—
(a) in a case where a defamation action has been brought, where the defamation action is brought on or after the date of the coming into operation of this section, or
(b) in a case where a defamation action has not been brought, to an application under section 33 o…
I move amendment No. 22:
In page 11, after line 32, to insert the following:
“(2) The amendment effected by subsection (1) shall apply only to defamation actions brought on or after the date of the coming into operation of this section.”.
I move amendment No. 25:
In page 15, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following:
“Order for damages in case of section 34F or 34G declaration
34H.(1) Where—
(a) the court makes a declaration under section 34F or 34G that the defamation proceedings concerned or part thereof amount to abusive court proceedings against public participation (in this section referred to as the ‘declaration’), and
(b) the defend…
I move amendment No. 26:
In page 15, to delete lines 24 to 30 and substitute the following:
“Publication of certain judgments and court orders
34I.Where a court finds in the course of defamation proceedings that the proceedings are abusive court proceedings against public participation, the court shall direct that any written judgment of the court or, in the absence of a written judgment of the court, any order of…
I move amendment No. 27:
In page 15, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following:
“Transitional provisions relating to provisions of Part 4A of Principal Act
18. Where a provision of Part 4A of the Principal Act comes into operation on a particular date, it shall do so only in relation to defamation proceedings (within the meaning of that Part) brought after that date.”.
I move amendment No. 28:
In page 16, line 4, to delete “34I.” and substitute “34J.”.
I move amendment No. 29:
In page 16, line 15, to delete “34J. (1) Without prejudice to the Mediation Act 2017, a” and substitute “34K. (1) A”.
I move amendment No. 30:
In page 17, line 6, to delete “34K.” and substitute “34L.”.
I move amendment No. 31:
In page 17, line 27, to delete “34L.” and substitute “34M.”.
I move amendment No. 32:
In page 18, line 13, to delete “34M.” and substitute “34N.”.
I move amendment No. 33:
In page 18, line 14, to delete “34L(1)(a)” and substitute “34M(1)(a)”.
I move amendment No. 34:
In page 19, line 33, to delete “intermediate” and substitute “intermediary”.
These amendments make changes to the definitions contained in the proposed section 45 of the Defamation Act 2009 introduced by section 19 of the Bill. Section 45 provides the Circuit Court with jurisdiction to make identification orders. This allows a person who has been subject to defamatory comments by anonymous …
I move amendment No. 35:
In page 20, line 7, after “remuneration,” to insert “whether such remuneration is provided directly by a recipient of services or indirectly through advertising or other means,”.