Journalists and editors in Ireland have been found to be under legal threat and intimidation from those with the money to hire lawyers to shut down unflattering reporting about them that is in the public interest, according to research conducted for the International Press Institute. Ireland’s libel laws are considered to be among Europe’s strictest, and despite the planned reform of defamation law by the Minister for Justice, Simon Harris, journalists and the public are still deprived of information that could be of public interest due to the onerous costs imposed on media organisations long before any cases reach court. Regardless of the merits of the complaint, media organisations face large legal fees the moment a defamation threat is received, which can be a serious burden, particularly for smaller news organisations. Insurance companies have also put pressure on media organisations to offer indemnity insurance, forcing them to agree to settle complaints. In essence, this has led to the development of a situation in which Ireland’s legal system is being abused for the purposes of aggressive image management.
