2.— In this Act—

“ Act of 1957” means the Statute of Limitations 1957;

“ Act of 1961” means the Defamation Act 1961;

“ cause of action” means a cause of action for defamation;

“ correction order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 30 ;

“ declaratory order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 28 ;

“ defamation” shall be construed in accordance with section 6 (2);

“ defamation action” means—

(a) an action for damages for defamation, or

(b) an application for a declaratory order,

whether or not a claim for other relief under this Act is made;

“ defamatory statement” means a statement that tends to injure a person’s reputation in the eyes of reasonable members of society, and “defamatory” shall be construed accordingly;

“ defence of absolute privilege” has the meaning assigned to it by section 17 ;

“ defence of qualified privilege” has the meaning assigned to it by section 18 ;

“ defence of truth” has the meaning assigned to it by section 16 ;

“ electronic communication” includes a communication of information in the form of data, text, images or sound (or any combination of these) by means of guided or unguided electromagnetic energy, or both;

“ Minister” means the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform;

“ periodical” means any newspaper, magazine, journal or other publication that is printed, published or issued, or that circulates, in the State at regular or substantially regular intervals and includes any version thereof published on the internet or by other electronic means;

“ plaintiff” includes a defendant counterclaiming in respect of a statement that is alleged to be defamatory;

“ Press Council” has the meaning assigned to it by section 44 ;

“ Press Ombudsman” has the meaning assigned to it by paragraph 8 of Schedule 2 ;

“ qualified offer” has the meaning assigned to it by section 22 ;

“ special damages” has the meaning assigned to it by section 31 (7);

“ statement” includes—

(a) a statement made orally or in writing,

(b) visual images, sounds, gestures and any other method of signifying meaning,

(c) a statement—

(i) broadcast on the radio or television, or

(ii) published on the internet, and

(d) an electronic communication;

“ summary relief” means, in relation to a defamation action—

(a) a correction order, or

(b) an order prohibiting further publication of the statement to which the action relates.