I move:
That Dáil Éireann resolves that the period of operation of sections 1 to 7 and 9 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 (No. 14 of 2021) be extended for a period of 6 months, beginning on the 1st day of June, 2025 and ending on the 30th day of November, 2025.
Five years ago, we were all caught up in the events that arose from Covid. It had a remarkable impact, not just on the lives of Irish pe…
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
Not enough questions on record to compare.
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 did not guarantee it.
Yes.
They are outside.
I thank all Deputies for their contributions. There is general agreement in the House that outdoor seating is a good development from the point of view of the hospitality sector and the people who go to pubs and restaurants and like to sit outside. It is also fairly clear that there is broad recognition, including from myself, that the process by which we renew this for six months needs to come to an end at some stag…
I move:
That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure:
Proposal for a Regula…
I thank colleagues for their contributions, to which I will respond to presently. This is the first opportunity I have had since I was appointed as Minister for Justice to speak on the Defamation (Amendment) Bill. I was not, as is apparent, Minister for Justice when the House debated Second Stage.
It is important that I, as Minister, acknowledge the difficult role the Oireachtas is trying to perform when it comes to…
Similarly, there are many great advantages to being a member of a political party but there are also disadvantages, as I am sure the other Deputies here will acknowledge. One of the consequences of membership of a political party is the need for compromise. There has been a general election since the Second Stage debate. Fianna Fáil put forward a manifesto, which I supported. It included a requirement that the defama…
Is that the definition of "periodical"?
I thank Deputies for their contributions. I will try to deal with the issues they raised.
Deputy Carthy spoke about the definition of "periodical" in section 3. I am happy to give consideration to an amendment, if the Deputy tables it on Report Stage, which he has indicated he will do. At present, however, I am not fully aware of the detail of what he proposed but, as I said, I will give consideration to any amendme…
I am not looking around for entities that are supportive of this but there clearly are. Deputy Sherlock previously mentioned ISME. I suspect ISME is important but they are not the guiding people. I do not look for outside bodies to dictate to me as to what I should or should not do in the Houses of the Oireachtas. Ultimately, it was in the Fianna Fáil manifesto, it is part of the programme for Government and Members …
I will be brief. Section 5 is consequential upon what happened to section 4. We voted to retain section 4. I note the opposition of Deputies Gannon and Carthy to section 5, but the fact that section 4 has been approved by the House means that section 5 should stay. I am retaining this section.
One of the issues that was considered by the Department was whether we would include in the legislation a serious harm test as at present applies in England and Wales. It was decided that it would not be introduced or proposed in respect of personal plaintiffs, people who claim that they were defamed. The reason it was not proposed to look for a serious harm test is that the experience in the United Kingdom has been …
I certainly will give more detailed consideration to it in light of what the Deputy said. Dealing with the two examples the Deputy gave, the local shop in most situations, I would have thought, is not a corporate entity but is just owned by the local people. Let us assume that it is a corporate entity and they decided to run the shop under the auspices of a company. Let us say somebody suggests the shop is selling pr…
I thank the Deputy for the contribution. In a situation like that, if an individual was very associated with a company, the individual could take an action in their own name on the basis that they have been defamed because an entity with which they are very clearly associated, and it is known to the public that they are associated, has been defamed. In that instance, an individual could take a defamation action in re…
This section proposes an amendment to section 17 of the Defamation Act. That section sets out what is protected by the defence of absolute privilege. For instance, any statement made in this House is absolutely privileged. No matter what Deputy Carthy were to say about me, even if it were grossly defamatory, if I issued proceedings against him he would get the proceedings struck out on the basis that that was said in…
Maybe he is on his way.
I commend Deputy Carthy on managing to talk on to allow Deputy Gannon to get time to come here. I share his objective that we ensure that better protections are provided for those who are targeted by SLAPPs. Fortunately, however, in Ireland we do not experience SLAPPs in the same way as I think other, more populous jurisdictions have experienced them in recent years.
Notwithstanding that, it is important we have in …
I might respond formally to Deputy Gannon's amendments.
I understand the purpose of amendment No. 3 would be to delete the reference to "manifestly unfounded" contained in section 34E of the proposed Part 4A. Section 34E transposes Article 11 of the directive under which a court may strike out proceedings that have been initiated against a person on account of their engagement in public participation without proceed…
I move amendment No. 6:
In page 16, lines 10 to 12, to delete all words from and including “under” in line 10 down to and including line 12 and substitute “to which Schedule 2 refers, or”.
This group of amendments makes changes to section 18 of the Bill, which concerns alternatives to legal proceedings. Amendments Nos. 6 and 7 make minor drafting changes to sections 34I and 34J. Amendments Nos. 8 and 9 concern the …
I move amendment No. 7:
In page 16, lines 35 to 38, to delete all words from and including “(if” in line 35 down to and including line 38 and substitute “his or her compliance with subsection (1).”.
I move amendment No. 8:
In page 16, between lines 38 and 39, to insert the following:
“(3) If the originating document referred to in subsection (2) is not accompanied by a statutory declaration made in accordance with that subsection, the court concerned shall adjourn the proceedings for such period as it considers reasonable in the circumstances to enable the practising solicitor concerned to comply with paragrap…
I move amendment No. 9:
In page 16, line 39, to delete “(3)” and substitute “(4)”.
I move amendment No. 10:
In page 16, after line 40, to insert the following:
“Effect of specified ADR procedures on limitation periods
34K. In reckoning a period of time for the purposes of any limitation period under section 11 of the Act of 1957 applicable to the bringing of a defamation action, the following periods of time shall be disregarded:
(a) where a complaint is made to the Press Council to which Sched…
I move amendment No. 11:
In page 17, line 2, to delete “34K.” and substitute “34L.”.
Amendments Nos. 11 to 13, inclusive, adjust references to reflect the inclusion of the new section 34K.