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THE DEFAMATION Bill has concluded its passage through the Oireachtas, with a few deserved wobbly moments on blasphemy, and now awaits the signature of President McAleese. It will set the template for the practise of journalism in the years ahead. Successive governments promised in general elections to change the draconian and out-dated Defamation Act of 1961. But, it was Michael McDowell, as minister for justice in 2003, who initiated the lengthy consultation process to amend the Act. His successors, Brian Lenihan and Dermot Ahern, brought the changes to fruition. After almost half a century, a new regulatory regime for journalists has been put in place.

The amending of the 48-year-old Defamation Act has been a long time coming. It is a welcome development, not just for journalists but for citizens too. It comes almost quarter of a century after the then editor of this newspaper, Douglas Gageby, first proposed that a committee be established to pursue changes in the law. And as editors, indeed newspapers, came and went, Frank Cullen, co-ordinating director of the National Newspapers of Ireland, became its constant champion.