asked the Minister for Transport and Power if he will state the present position regarding the proposals for a nuclear power station on the east coast; and whether a decision has been taken with regard to the siting of the station.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Nuclear Power Station.
7.
The Government have not yet taken any decision regarding a nuclear station nor have the ESB made any recommendations to them in the matter. The ESB, however, are continuing their studies and will submit their conclusions to the Government in due course. No decision will be taken until the Government have considered all aspects of the matter and reached the conclusion that a nuclear station is necessary and practical.
Could the Minister inform me if a site in Wexford is one of the areas concerned?
Site investigations have been carried out by the ESB at locations in Carnsore, County Wexford, and similar site investigations have taken place in Counties Louth, Waterford, Sligo and Clare and these are all sites which, on preliminary site investigation, are suitable.
Could the Minister say when a decision will be taken in this matter?
A decision in this matter is dependent on a number of circumstances, the most important immediate circumstance being the fact that if sufficient natural gas finds are discovered off the southern coast, it may eliminate the reason for erecting a nuclear power station altogether.
Will the Minister bear in mind the claims of the west coast in this matter and will he state if a hard and fast decision has been taken to establish such a station on the east coast?
No hard and fast decision has been made about the establishment of a nuclear power station in particular. Preliminary site investigations to ascertain suitable sites have been carried out by the ESB but the basic Government decision which involves enormous financial implications has not yet been considered by the Government and the natural gas discoveries off the southern coast may change the whole pattern of this type of development in the future if the natural gas is suitable for power station development.
Would the Minister say whether it is correct that this matter is not being considered in conjunction with Northern Ireland, that despite the obvious desirability of its being done on a joint basis to ensure sufficient load we are doing it on our own and not co-operating with Northern Ireland in the matter?
The Deputy is under a complete misconception here.
Good—clarify the situation.
At the present time we have a complete joint transmission system in regard to electric power between the Six Counties and the Twenty-six Counties.
For distribution?
For distribution purposes.
Not generation?
A nuclear power station, a nautral gas station or any other type of station would be feeding into the transmission system.
What I want to know is whether the location of the site is being decided in conjunction with Northern Ireland because its location is important, even if we have a joint transmission system, from the point of view of where the load is going to be used. Is it correct that this is not being done in conjunction with Northern Ireland?
The Deputy will appreciate that we are at a very early stage in this matter and very important decisions, particularly of a financial kind, will have to be taken before any final decision is made.
Is it being done in co-operation with Northern Ireland or is it not?
The outstanding example of co-operation between the Six Counties and the Twenty-six Counties at the present time is the common transmission system into which power is fed from both northern and southern sources.
Answer the question. There is no co-operation. It is the same partitionist policy as usual.
Did the Minister say that there may not be a nuclear station if there is a sufficient amount of natural gas?
Question No. 8.