Vol. 462 No. 6
8 Mr. Browne (Wexford) asked the Minister for the Marine the nature of his recent discussion with United Kingdom Ministers regarding the dumping at sea of dangerous objects and substances with particular reference to the Beaufort Dyke in the Irish Sea; the conclusions or decisions, if any, reached at this meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5263/96]
37 Kathleen Lynch asked the Minister for the Marine the extent to which the British authorities dumped munitions off the Cork/Kerry coast following World War II; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5140/96]
49 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Minister for the Marine the outcome of his meeting with the Scottish Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the British Minister for Defence regarding Beaufort Dyke munitions dump; whether work on the proposed gas pipeline disturbed some of the munitions in the dyke; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5137/96]
142 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Marine if he has requested information from the British Government regarding the reason the gas pipeline between Scotland and Northern Ireland was allowed to proceed in view of the fact that a large amount of explosive material was known to be discarded in the area and for such a pipeline to proceed a prohibition order had to be lifted; and the action, if any, he proposes to take to ensure that anchors from ships and trawlers in the area do not cause the explosives to detonate with the risk of rupturing the gas pipeline. [2373/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 37, 49 and 142 together.
I met the Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and the Environment, the Scottish Office, the Earl of Lindsay and the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Defence, the Earl Howe in London last Thursday to discuss the drawing up of a management plan for the Beaufort Dyke munitions dumpsite. Lords Howe and Lindsay confirmed that while there is no conclusive evidence that the British Gas Pipeline disturbed munitions in the Beaufort Dyke, they accept it is likely that this is the case.
A firm commitment from the UK Government to put in place a system of monitoring and management of the dumpsite was secured. A number of key points were agreed. (1) The Scottish Office will undertake a new study beginning next month on the Beaufort Dyke munitions dumpsite in order to re-map and re-chart the extent of the dumpsite and the distribution of munitions within the site. (2) It was agreed that UK and Irish scientists will co-operate on the methodology and methods of analysis for the study and they will jointly review the data emerging. (3) The gas pipeline between Scotland and Northern Ireland will not be commissioned until its safety has been assured following assessment by the UK Health and Safety Executive. UK and Irish scientists will liaise in relation to this issue. (4) The re-mapping of the dumpsite will be completed before a decision is made on the route of the proposed electricity intercon-necter between Scotland and Northern Ireland. The installation of the interconnecter will draw on lessons learned from the laying of the gas pipeline. (5) Based on the studies which are now to be carried out, the UK Ministries intend to issue guidelines on the management of activity around the dump site. (6) When the 1996 study of the Beaufort Dyke dump site is completed there will be a further meeting in Dublin between the two UK Ministers and myself to assess the results and to discuss what further steps are required at that stage. I am very pleased with the outcome of this meeting and I am satisfied that a high degree of co-operation has been achieved.
With regard to Deputy Lynch's question on the dumping of Second World War munitions off the coast of Cork-Kerry, the position is that between 1945 and 1957 the UK authorities dumped a total of 150,000 tonnes of mustard, phosgene and brombenzyl cyanide charged munitions at locations off the coast of Donegal and 250 miles south west of the coasts of Cork-Kerry. The material was sealed in scuttled vessels. I have asked the UK authorities for a breakdown of how much material was dumped at each site but I have been informed that regrettably it is not possible to give this information because the relevant records are no longer available.
The issue of all munitions dumpsites around the Irish coast was considered at the meeting with the UK Ministers. The proposal within the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, generally known as OSPAR, to carry out an inventory of all munitions dumpsites was noted. This will clearly be a matter to be pursued through the Quality Status Report — QSR — of OSPAR as well as through bilateral arrangements. The UK authorities indicated that if monitoring of water quality and marine life which they carry out on a regular basis indicates any impact from the various munitions dumpsites in UK waters, consideration will be given to surveys and other investigations.
On the international front I have also raised this issue with the EU Commissioner and I particularly welcome her intervention. She has indicated that she intends to raise with the UK Government whether there are issues in relation to the dumpsites which could be solved at Community or international level.
(Wexford): I get the impression from the Minister's reply and from his press release last week that the meeting between him and the UK Ministers related more to economic factors than to the health and welfare of people using our seas. Did the Minister raise the issue of British weapons dumps other than the Beaufort Dyke, including sites off the Donegal coast? What commitment, if any, did he receive from the UK Ministers? Did he press for an independent study as opposed to one carried out by the Scottish Office? In the past the information made available from that office and indeed from the UK Government has been provided on a piecemeal basis. How can we trust them therefore to carry out this study? Would it not be more appropriate to employ an independent EU monitoring body to do that work? Did the Minister raise the issue of alleged British dumping of nuclear waste in the Irish Sea and what commitments, if any, did he receive from the UK Ministers?
The impression that the discussions with the UK Ministers were confined solely to economic issues is incorrect. They related primarily to our environmental and safety concerns about the dumpsites. I can confirm to Deputy Browne that the discussions related not only to the Beaufort Dyke but also to the other dumpsites concerned. We have put forward a proposal through the OSPAR Convention that an inventory of all the dumpsites should be made under the auspices of OSPAR. I am sure Deputy Browne is aware that OSPAR is an international body and, therefore, has an international dimension. We have also requested the assistance of the European Commissioner and she is pursuing the matter with the UK authorities.
The dumping of nuclear materials has been raised with the UK authorities, who stated there are not any nuclear munitions dumped in the Beaufort Dyke or in the Irish Sea. We paid particular attention to the Beaufort Dyke dumpsite because it was disturbed during the laying of the gas pipeline. This resulted in the appearance of canisters from that site on Scottish and Irish coasts.
I appreciate the Minister's concern about this issue because it is of major concern to people living near the coast. What assurances did the Scottish Office give the Minister about securing those dumpsites? It seems obvious that as time passes the vessels in which materials were dumped will corrode and break up. More canisters are being washed ashore. What type of supervisory measures and tests will be put in place to ensure that the washing ashore of such material will not become widespread, particularly along the Cork and Kerry coasts bearing in mind the storms that may be prevalent in winter months?
The best scientific evidence available states that if munitions dumpsites are left undisturbed, they will not pose a danger. That type of evidence is available in Denmark and Norway where there are similar problems arising from the dumping of munitions in the Skagerrak after the Second World War. The problem arose in the Beaufort Dyke because the dumpsite was disturbed during the laying of the gas pipeline. There is not any evidence that material has been washed ashore from any of the other dumpsites. We have proposed through the OSPAR Convention the regular monitoring of those sites, the putting in place of a management regime to deal with them and, as a first step towards that achievement, that an inventory of those sites should be made. In addition, we have made provision in the Dumping at Sea Bill which is before the Seanad that further dumping of munitions cannot take place in our maritime area. Under that Bill our maritime area is being extended from 12 miles to 350 miles.
I regret that I may not call colleagues who are offering as I am obliged to proceed to Defence questions in accordance with Standing Orders.
