RTÉ pays over €10.4m in defamation-related settlements since 2010

RTÉ has paid out more than €10.4 million in settlements related to defamation actions since 2010, the Dáil's public spending watchdog has been told.

The broadcaster provided the information in a response to a request from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

In a letter to the committee last month, RTÉ head of public affairs Vivienne Flood said the total paid in media settlements for the period 2010 to date is €10,432,676.58.

“This amount does not take into account refunds from our insurers,” she said.

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Refunds by insurers are not detailed in the letter.

Ms Flood wrote that RTÉ also notes comments by accounts committee member Catherine Murphy "regarding the need for national defamation legislation to be reviewed, and we would like to put on record our own support for this to happen".

Reform of defamation laws

This is a reference to remarks made by the Social Democrats co-leader at an accounts committee meeting in September where Ms Murphy said it would be useful for the committee to get the overall sums RTÉ paid for defamation cases. The committee was previously told it could not be provided with information on individual settlements.

Ms Murphy said at the time that “defamation laws require urgently to be changed. Every media outlet has a particular issue with the current defamation laws.” She suggested that if the overall figure was provided by RTÉ “we could follow through to the department to seek a change”.

An RTÉ spokesman did not outline the sums refunded by insurers.

However the broadcaster said “all RTÉ journalists and programme makers engage in ongoing training regarding media law and related matters. RTÉ has also put in place editorial controls to minimise risk to our output in these areas.”

RTÉ went on to say that all media organisations in Ireland operate in one of the most restrictive and challenging defamation regimes in the world.

“This is evidenced not only by the influx of US celebrities bringing defamation actions in Ireland, but also by the EU 2020 Rule of Law Report on Ireland which stated that ‘frequent defamation suits, high costs of defence and high damages awarded by Irish courts are seen as an inducement to self-censorship and a constraint to media freedom, also to the detriment of the fight against corruption’. “That same report notes this Government’s pledge to reform the defamation laws in Ireland. By way of comparison, damages in defamation actions are a multiple of those awarded in personal injuries actions which the Government has already sought to reform.

“Awards in defamation cases in Ireland are also significantly higher than those given by courts in England.”

RTÉ also said “the abolition of juries in defamation cases and a cap on damages [linked to the personal injuries guidelines] would introduce transparency and consistency in defamation awards. They would also make Irish law more compatible with the State’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.”