Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation Bill 2026: Second Stage Dail Éireann — 2026-09-29 ============================================================ Michael Collins (II), Cork South-West I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill because for me, this is not just a theoretical issue. I know what it is like as a sitting TD to be pursued with legal correspondence and to be threatened with legal action while simply trying to represent the people who elected me. When a constituent comes to my office with a serious concern, my job is to listen to them, investigate the matter, ask questions and where necessary, raise those questions with the relevant authorities. That is what I was elected to do. However, when solicitors’ letters start arriving because you have raised difficult questions, there is a chilling effect. You start to wonder what is the next letter you will see, what defending yourself could cost and how far somebody with deeper pockets might be prepared to take it. If that pressure can be put on a TD, imagine what it is like for an ordinary citizen, local journalist, farmer, community activist or whistleblower. That is why I understand the principles behind this Bill. Nobody should be able to use their wealth, power, or access to expensive lawyers to frighten another person into silence. People have a right to their good name and to defend themselves where they have been genuinely wronged. This Bill cannot and should not give politicians, journalists or anybody else a licence to say whatever they want without consequences. However, there is a world of difference between going to court to vindicate a legitimate right and using the threat of the expense and stress of litigation as a weapon to silence legitimate public interest questions. Sometimes you do not even have to bring the case to conclusion; a threatening letter can be enough. The prospect of spending tens of thousands of euro to defend yourself can be enough. The legal process itself can become the punishment. That is where this legislation is important. I particularly welcome the provisions allowing unfounded claims to be dealt with at an early stage, and allowing the court to take stronger action where proceedings are found to be abusive. However, I have serious concerns. Will an ordinary person actually be able to afford to use these protections? There is no point in passing legislation protecting people against expensive and abusive litigation if they need thousands of euro to get to court and prove the litigation is abusive. A person who receives a solicitor's letter may already be frightened out of his or her wits about what the case could cost. I want to know what practical assistance will be available to that person. How quickly will these applications be heard and will adequate resources be provided? Will legal aid - if the person can get it - or some other form of assistance be considered because these protections have to be quick, affordable and accessible, or they will mean very little to the ordinary person? I also want the Minister to consider the position of elected representatives. A TD's job does not begin and end in this Chamber. We meet people in our clinics and we write to Departments, councils, State agencies and other organisations. We raise difficult cases because sometimes the people sitting across the desk from us have nowhere else to turn. I have been elected to represent those people and I will not be frightened out of representing them by the threat of a solicitor's letter. However, that does not put me or any TD above the law. In effect, representatives acting honestly and responsibly on a genuine matter of public interest must be able to do their job without wondering whether the price for asking an uncomfortable question will be another legal threat landing on the desk. Our courts must always remain places where people can go to seek justice. They can never be allowed to become a weapon for those with the deepest pockets to silence those who ask difficult questions. The real test of this legislation will come when an ordinary person gets that solicitor’s letter. Will he or she be able to stand his or her ground and challenge abusive proceedings quickly? Most importantly, will he or she be able to afford to do it? Freedom of expression and public participation cannot become rights that only belong to people wealthy enough to defend them. That is the challenge I put to the Minister and it is the standard by which this Bill should be ultimately judged. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-29/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-09-29