140 / 250
GAZETTE
JULY/AUGUST 1982
may be present at Meetings of the Council in the
Galleries and other parts ofthe Chamberfromtime to
time allotted to their use, and they are at liberty to
report and publish the proceedings of the Council."
60. "Representatives of the Press, Radio and Television
may be present at meetings of Standing Committees
and Committee of the Whole House provided that
when confidential matters are under discussion these
Committees may decide to exclude such representa-
tives for the relevant portion of the meeting."
79. "Every Committee is authorised to furnish to the
Press reports of any of its proceedings."
Standing Orders must stand up to the tests facing all
subordinate legislation, notably the ultra vires rule.
The position ofthe press in England in relation to attend-
ance at meetings ought to be clearer than in Ireland because
they have a number of regulatory statutes; the upshot is,
however, that they have statutory grey areas where we have
practical grey areas.
The Local Authority (Admission of the Press to Meet-
ings) Act 1908 — which did not apply to Ireland — allowed
the press into full Council meetings and those of Education
Committees. The Act arose from the decision of the High
Court in
Tenby Corporation v. Mason
[1908] 1 Ch. 457
where a newspaper editor was held not entitled to attend
meetings of the Local Council either as a journalist or as a
ratepayer.
The 1908 Act allowed the press to be excluded if a
majority of the members voted that this would be in the
public interest. Dis-satisfaction with the provision lead a
Tory back-bencher —one Margaret Thatcher — to intro-
duce what become the Public Bodies (Admission to Meet-
ings) Act 1960 which gave both the press and the public a
right to attendmeetings of local authorities and other speci-
fied public bodies. The Local Government Act 1972 ex-
tended these admission rights to local authority commit-
tees. Under the 1960 Act, a meeting of a committee of a
public body, if the committee included all members of that
body would be treated as if it were a meeting of the body
itself. The 1960 Act, however, restricts the right of admis-
sion tomeetings; section 1 (2) commences "A body may, by
resolution, exclude the public from a meeting (whether
during the whole or part of the proceedings) whenever pub-
licity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of
the confidential nature of the business to be transacted, or
for any other special reasons stated in the resolution and
arising from the nature ofthat business or ofthe proceedings
In England, therefore, the right of the press to attend
meetings of local authorities whether such meetings be in
full or in committee can be curtailed by resolution of the
local authority using its own subjective standard of the
public interest within the parameters of section 1 (2) of the
1960 Act, while in the Republic the press has no right under
the law as presently interpreted to attend meetings of any
committee ofa local authority but has a right to attendmeet-
ings of the full local authority unless (a) that local authority
has the sanction of the Minister for the Environment to
Incorporated Law Society of Ireland
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Practising Certificates will not be issued in 1982 or future years unless the Solicitors'
Accountants' Certificate is in order, i.e., a clear Certificate has been lodged within 6
months of the solicitors' accounting date.
Where, on application for a Practising Certificate, an Accounting Certificate is not in
order, the Solicitor will be notified in writing that the Practising Certificate cannot
issue until the Accountants' Certificate is lodged and that should be done within one
month. He will be informed that pending receipt of the Accountants' Certificate his
remittance is being held in suspense account and that in the meantime, it is an offence
to practice without a Practising Certificate.
After a lapse of one month, the solicitor will be informed that unless the Accountants'
Certificate is received within a further month, disciplinary proceedings will be
commenced without further notice and that, at the same time, the Bar Association
and County Registrar will be notified that the solicitor is practising without a current
Practising Certificate.
The situation regarding outstanding Accountants Certificates is reviewed at each
Council meeting.
JAMES J. IVERS,
Director General
131