19 Mr. Collins asked the Minister for the Environment the steps, if any, he has taken to ensure that meetings of local authorities take place in public. [9746/97]

All full council meetings are held in public to the extent that the press is admitted and has unrestricted rights to report on the proceedings. Many local authorities admit the public to meetings also.

I intend, within the next month, to make regulations under Part V of the Local Government Act, 1994, to update and consolidate the law on local authority meetings. The regulations will include provision for a right of public access to council meetings, subject to practical considerations such as the size of the chamber. My Department has already consulted the General Council of County Councils and the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland on a draft of the proposed regulations.