Vol. 495 No. 2
112 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Public Enterprise whether her Department will be represented at the Ploughshares meeting on 14 and 15 November which will discuss measures required to effect the closure of the Faslane nuclear installation. [19738/98]
My Department has not been informed of the meeting to which the Deputy refers. The Faslane installation is a military installation and is the base in the UK from which the UK Trident submarines operate. I understand Trident Ploughshares 2000 is an antinuclear NGO which has as its objective, inter alia, the closure of Faslane.
My remit in regard to nuclear safety focuses on the potential risk to Ireland of civil nuclear installations in the UK and elsewhere, rather than military activities. Ireland's views on nuclear proliferation and the desirability of curbing the development and possession of nuclear weapons are well known and continue to be articulated on Ireland's behalf by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. My Department will not be represented at the meeting on 14 and 15 November next.
