Vol. 466 No. 1
46 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the number of United Kingdom nuclear incidents reported to his Department under the existing bilateral arrangements in each of the years from 1990 to 1995; if he has satisfied himself with the operation of the bilateral notification procedures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10873/96]
Under long-standing agreed arrangements, my Department is notified of incidents of a radiological nature as soon as the UK authorities themselves are informed by the nuclear operators. On receipt of the notification, this Department immediately seeks the views of the RPII on the radiological and health implications for Ireland.
Where individual notifications require clarification or other follow-up action, this takes place between Irish and UK officials promptly.
The number of incidents of a radiological nature reported formally to my Department from 1990 to 1995 are as follows: 1990, 11 incidents; 1991, six incidents; 1992, eight incidents; 1993, 17 incidents; 1994, 15 incidents; 1995, 16 incidents. The Deputy may also wish to know that to date in 1996, my Department has been notified of four incidents.
Generally, the notification arrangements have been working satisfactorily since 1986 although I would like to see the scope of formally notified incidents extended to include incidents not involving a release of radioactivity.
On-site incidents that compromise worker safety are reported to the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) of the Health and Safety Executive. The Department of Transport, Energy and Communications does not receive formal notification of such incidents. However, there are arrangements in place such that the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland are notified by the NII of these incidents who in turn pass this information onto me. The Health and Safety Executive in the UK also publish a general statement about incidents on a quarterly basis.
All nuclear incidents are unacceptable to the Irish Government, and I am continuously monitoring the frequency and totality of UK incidents with a view to highlighting the need for significant safety improvements.
