asked the Minister for the Environment if he will make a statement on the talks his Department have had with their British counterparts about the impact of nuclear waste dumping on our environment.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Nuclear Waste Dumping.
2.
While the Minister for the Environment has a general responsibility in relation to environmental matters, the Minister for Energy has specific statutory responsibilities in relation to the disposal of radioactive wastes and any discussions with the United Kingdom authorities on such matters are primarily a matter for him.
The Deputy will, no doubt, be aware that the discharge of radioactive wastes from Sellafield and the dumping of low level radioactive wastes in the Atlantic were the subject of discussions between the Minister for Energy and those authorities last February. There have been no direct discussions between my Department and the UK authorities on these matters. However, the Sellafield discharges were raised by the Tánaiste — then Minister for the Environment — at the Anglo-Irish summit in London on 7 November 1983. In addition, the then Minister of State at my Department, Deputy Quinn, raised the matter informally with his United Kingdom counterpart while attending an EEC Council in Brussels on 28 November 1983.
Is the Minister of State aware that there is still a great deal of anxiety and unease about this matter? Will he agree that it seems to be difficult for us to get any kind of clear picture as to the extent of the dangers? Will he tell the House if the Nuclear Energy Board are at full strength now and if they have the capacity to monitor the situation and to advise us on it? In addition, will he state if there is any new, up-to-date information available either to himself or to any of his colleagues in the Government since the rather unsatisfactory outcome of the talks between the Tánaiste when he was Minister for the Environment and his British counterpart to which reference was made in the reply?
If the Deputy wants that kind of information, I suggest that he put down a question to the Minister for Energy who, as I indicated in my reply, has responsibility for the matter.
What about the Nuclear Energy Board?
That is his responsibility.
The Minister of State refuses to answer any questions?
I do not refuse to answer questions.
Why did the Minister of State accept the question if he will not give the House full information?
I suggested that if the Deputy wanted information with regard to any particular Department he should put down a question to the relevant Department.
This is a very serious matter.
The question on the Order Paper covers talks between the Department of the Environment and their British counterparts.
I suggest that the question could not be more specific on a very important matter and it is very unsatisfactory for the House if the Minister of State takes refuge in the tactic of referring us to different Ministers and Departments.
The Deputy will have to confine himself to the question.
The question was put down by Deputy Allen who obviously shares my worries in this regard. I am quite prepared to put down a separate question but I would have thought that when a question like this is accepted by the Minister for the Environment he would give the House full information and a full statement about it. This is——
We cannot have a discussion.
——an issue of very great anxiety to many people and I am sure the Minister will agree that the situation is not satisfactory as we are not getting clear answers and up-to-date information.
If the Deputy puts down a question to the relevant Department he will get an answer.
Why did the Minister take the question if he was not going to answer it?
The question concerns talks between the Department of the Environment and their British counterparts.
Would the Minister inform the House of the method of assessing the impact of nuclear waste dumping on the environment?
That is done in conjunction with the Nuclear Energy Board through the Department of Energy.
Is there a Nuclear Energy Board and, if so, is it full staffed?
I am not aware of the staff composition of the board.
When there was a motion before the Dáil recently approving Ireland's participation in international agreements in this matter, the Minister for the Environment and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Brien, handled the brief. It is confusing for the Opposition when the Government are not quite clear as to who carries full responsibility in the Government for matters affecting our environment arising from dumping of nuclear waste.
We must confine ourselves to questions, Deputy.
The Minister for Energy has responsibility in this area and that has been made clear on a number of occasions.
Could the Minister of State say whether he is denying that his Department carry any responsibility in the area of protecting our environment?
We have a responsibility but the responsibility with regard to the discharge of radioactive waste is a matter for the Minister for Energy.
Have the Department of the Environment no responsibility in this matter?
I did not say that.
I must again point out that this question deals with talks between the Department of the Environment and their British counterparts.
It raises a very important point with regard to collective responsibility in regard to a most serious aspect of the dumping of nuclear waste which could become a very serious hazard. In the interests of collective responsibility and in doing something in the national interest in this area, would the Minister impress on his colleagues the importance of having some sort of co-ordinating committee within the Government to deal with this matter.
That does not arise out of the question.
Does the Minister of State agree that he must be the only Minister in the whole wide world who says that the dumping of nuclear waste in adjacent seas is not the responsibility of the Minister for the Environment?
That is not a question, it is a statement.
We do not look elsewhere, we can make our own decisions, unlike the Opposition.