Vol. 475 No. 4
31 Mr. Davern asked the Minister for the Environment the progress, if any, made in his capacity as Chairman of the Government Committee on Sellafield since the recent meeting with the Minister of State for Energy with the British Ambassador; and the plans, if any, he has to pursue the Government's position on NIREX. [5027/97]
33 Mr. Cullen asked the Minister for the Environment the plans, if any, he has to make representations to the reopened United Kingdom inquiry on NIREX in his capacity as Chair of the Government Committee on Sellafield. [5024/97]
35 Mr. Davern asked the Minister for the Environment the plans, if any, he has to make representations to the reopened United Kingdom inquiry on NIREX in his capacity as Chair of the Government Committee on Sellafield. [5025/97]
56 Mr. D. Wallace asked the Minister for the Environment the progress, if any, made in his capacity as Chairman of the Government Committee on Sellafield since the recent meeting with the Minister of State for Energy with the British Ambassador; and the plans, if any, he has to pursue the Government's position on NIREX. [5026/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 31, 33, 35 and 56 together.
The Government is maintaining its opposition to the NIREX proposal for a rock characterisation facility near Sellafield and will continue to avail of every opportunity to advance this case.
A number of scientific reports on the proposal, which have recently become generally available, serve to endorse the basis for the Government's opposition as presented in January 1996 to the UK public inquiry on the matter. In the light of these developments, the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications has written to the UK Secretary of State for the Environment reiterating the Government's position and urging him to refuse the NIREX appeal against the rejection of the planning application by Cumbria County Council. The Minister of State proposed that, at the very least, the public inquiry should be reopened so that all relevant scientific and geological data could be properly assessed.
The Secretary of State has responded to these and other expressions of concern by providing a further consultation period for the purpose of receiving submissions on the scientific reports and other documentation that have recently become available. The ministerial committee on Sellafield and the Irish Sea reviewed these developments at its meeting on 11 February and decided that a further submission would be made on behalf of the Government to the Secretary of State. The preparation of the submission is now well advanced.
