Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 6 Oct 1998

Vol. 494 No. 4

Written Answers. - Nuclear Waste.

John Gormley

Question:

145 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the contact, if any, she has had with her counterpart in the German Government with a view to persuading the German authorities to find methods of disposing of their nuclear waste in a manner which does not require shipment to the Irish Sea and to the Sellafield plant for reprocessing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18422/98]

John Gormley

Question:

146 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Public Enterprise whether her Department has information, or intends to seek information, on those countries that export nuclear waste to Sellafield for reprocessing; the commercial value of these contracts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18423/98]

Minister of State at the Department of Public Enterprise (Mr. Jacob)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 145 and 146 together.

In so far as the question of information on Sellafield's nuclear waste reprocessing contracts and their value is concerned, I refer the Deputy to my reply to Questions Nos. 108 and 110 of the 28 April 1998. While I do not have any such information in regard to these contracts, I wish to reassure the Deputy that the Government will continue to make known its opposition to the reprocessing operations at the Sellafield THORP plant through direct representations with the UK authorities and within international fora.

As regards the question of contact with the German Government in regard to shipments of nuclear waste to Sellafield, I again refer the Deputy to my response to Questions Nos. 108 and 110 of 28 April 1998 and also to my response to Questions Nos. 23 and 28 of 3 June 1998. The Department of Foreign Affairs has been monitoring developments in Germany following from the suspension in May 1998 of all shipments of nuclear waste from Germany. These shipments had been suspended at the direction of the German Government after it emerged that the surface of nuclear waste containers arriving at the reprocessing plants at La Hague and Sellafield from Germany were found to be contaminated.

I understand that this suspension is still in place. Clearly with the formation of a new Government in Germany the issue of the transport of nuclear waste will be under review. My Department, with the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs, will keep in touch with developments in Germany in this regard.