Vol. 482 No. 6
14 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if her attention has been drawn to the recent British Government decision to phase out all nuclear discharges to the marine environment except those emanating from the Sellafield and THORP complex; if she has satisfied herself with this decision; if not, the action, if any, she proposes in order to have Sellafield and THORP included in the British decision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14934/97]
22 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the level of financial support, if any, her Department proposes to offer to the four County Louth residents seeking the closure of the THORP nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield; if so, if the case will be fully financed as promised; the reason for the delay in confirming funding; the outcome of her discussions, if any, with the United Kindgom Environment Minister of State on British Nuclear Fuels Limited's recent application to amend discharge authorisations at Sellafield; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16090/97]
26 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she has met with the Dundalk residents group which proposes suing British Nuclear Fuels Limited for damages to Irish citizens arising from the operation of the Sellafield nuclear complex; if she has reached agreement with the group regarding the level of funding and other assistance to be provided to it; if the group has agreed to remove the Irish State as a defendant in its case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18979/97]
50 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the steps, if any, which have been taken to honour the commitment given in Dáil Éireann during the recent debate on a Private Members' motion that the Government would fully fund the legal case being taken by the STAD group; the meetings, if any, which have been held with the STAD group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18923/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 14, 22, 26 and 50 together.
In relation to the County Louth residents' independent High Court action against BNFL, the general terms of the Government's decision in relation to funding was communicated by letter to the residents on 22 October last. I had a further meeting last week with the residents to discuss the nature and terms of the Government's financial assistance and other relevant issues. We will continue our discussions on the matter later this week. By mutual agreement with the residents, I do not believe it helpful to comment further on the details of the discussions at this stage.
I am aware of the recent decision of the British Government to phase out the dumping of lowlevel radioactive waste into the marine environment. While I welcomed this decision, I would have preferred that discharges from nuclear installations such as Sellafield and THORP would also have been covered by the phase out plans.
Radioactive contamination of the Irish marine environment continues to occur as a consequence of the activities of these installations. I, of course, consider that all radioactive discharges should be progressively reduced and ultimately eliminated at the earliest possible date.
There is some evidence that Mr. Michael Meacher, MP, the UK Minister responsible for environmental policy relating to marine discharges from Sellafield, is conscious of the need to make progress on reducing nuclear discharges. He has recently acknowledged the need to commit all Governments to this aim although he qualified this commitment by stating that there was a need for any agreement "to be tempered by what is practicable and to be consistent with the provisions of the existing agreements in this area".
