As long as we continue to drag our feet on this issue we deepen people's cynicism about our sincerity, yet at the same time we wish to make public life more transparent and to be more answerable to the people. What do the ordinary people think when they consider our failure to grasp the nettle of defamation and libel laws? They simply see it as a matter of politicians looking after themselves and their own interests. They see it as a defensive gesture by people and institutions that seem to have something to hide. We may argue against that, but I am talking about how the public views matters. The plain people of Ireland are not impressed by yet another Seanad session devoted to statements on defamation. What they want to see is a Bill on the subject, which will grab hold of the issue and drag our political processes into the 21st century.