A public that understands scientific developments, the argument runs, will be an informed electorate, capable of voting and participating in a government's science policy. But is it that easy? And who is going to make the public understand?

Some people tune out when you ask them if they are interested in "science", says Dr Kirk Junker, co-ordinator of the science communication programme, run jointly by DCU and Queen's University Belfast. Ask them, however, if they are interested in the possible danger of genetically modified foods and their response might be different, he says.

And who exactly are "the public"? One view is that there are some who are interested in science - they are people usually interested in politics, arts, the environment and foreign affairs - yet there is another section of the population who will never be interested in science, no matter how well covered by the media.

However, there is evidence of public interest in science, says DCU's Brian Trench. He points to the success of popular science books, such as Dava Sobel's Longitude, the attendance at public lectures on science, and interest in science programmes on television. Not all of the interested public will have science qualifications, nor will they have a scientific vocabulary. Not everyone knows their quarks from their quasars.

"It's not down to the public to develop a scientific vocabulary. It's down to the scientists to put over their research in a comprehensible way," says Dr Wayne Anderson of the Food Safety Authority.

The Royal Society in London once commissioned a report on the public understanding of science. It suggested that an increase in the number of stories about science would, somehow, lead to an increase in understanding.

This shows a misunderstanding of the communication process, says Junker. He says it is an incorrect view of communication to see it as one-way - the scientists talking to the public via the journalist. He says the public needs to be included in the process. One way in which science journalism in this State has improved is the increase in outlets for science reporting - and the diversity in the sciences covered, says Dr John Donovan, secretary of the Irish Research Scientists Association.

Previously, science and technology news used to be focus on information technology. Now stories from diverse disciplines such as geology, zoology and archaeology are being covered, he says.