Vol. 548 No. 2
43 Mr. McDowell asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she has received the report from the consultants charged with reviewing the National Emergency Plan for Nuclear Accidents; the main recommendations of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4394/02]
I will shortly receive the report from the consultants engaged to conduct a review of the National Emergency Plan for Nuclear Accidents. A preliminary draft was made available to officials in my Department at the beginning of the year and this has helped complete the revision of the emergency plan. This report will also contain the results of the recent exercise conducted to test the plan.
My present disposition is to publish the report but its nature and content will need to be taken into consideration before a final decision can be made as to its publication.
Is the Minister of State aware that the consultants employed gave an interview to Joe Humphreys of The Irish Times on 14 January 2000 in which they said there was a need for a new control centre, which would cost a lot of money, and a five year training programme for staff in all Departments which might be affected? When does the Minister of State expect the control centre the consultants stated was essential to be available? When will the training start? Does he agree that, regarding the five year programme, the matter is urgent and could be an issue beyond training at that stage?
That is a very fair comment. The control centre we used for the test of the National Emergency Plan for Nuclear Accidents was totally inadequate. I went to see it on the day for myself. I am not at all surprised to see that proposal from the consultants and we are looking very seriously at it.
We do not have the report in full yet – we have a preliminary draft – which will contain a recommendation on training. I agree with the Deputy that in the context of what happened on 11 September, five years is far too long. The Government is taking a very serious view of the whole area of emergency planning, not just nuclear emergency planning, and it has put a task force in place which has met about a dozen times. It is headed by the Minister for Defence and the relevant Ministers are all involved, as are the security institutions of the State in the form of senior Garda and Army personnel. That will be part of their discussions. I agree that five years is far too long.
When will we have sight of the information pack the Minister of State promised to deliver to each house? When will iodine tablets, which are an antidote to certain forms of radioactivity, be available nationally to individual households? While I do not expect the Minister of State to be able to answer this on the hoof, will he establish the amount of radioactivity against which iodine would be an effective antidote? Does he agree that isotopes are the main risk from Sellafield because they are not iodine sensitive, in other words the thyroid gland is not directly affected by them? It is misleading to say that iodine would cure the effects of radioactivity as a result of an accident at Sellafield.
This issue got me into trouble some time ago. The answer to the Deputy's question is twofold. The events of 11 September gave this issue a new perspective. Heretofore, our emergency planning was for a nuclear accident. There has been a rethink since 11 September and we are now talking and thinking about the possibility of a terrorist attack. The emergency task force, which is made up of experts, was put in place to discuss the issue and that has contributed to a certain delay. As regards the timescale, we underestimated the logistics and the difficulties in putting together the printing and tendering process. The Government has now approved the plan, which will be put in place. An information leaflet will also be distributed to every household, but I will not give the Deputy a date.
The Minister of State did not answer my question about iodine.
The Minister of State may reply to that question and to two further supplementary questions together.
Has the Minister of State any plans to inform people through radio or television advertisements about what to do if there is a nuclear accident or attack?
(Mayo): If, God forbid, there was a nuclear catastrophe tomorrow, what would happen?
We would all be gone.
(Mayo): How many nuclear shelters do we have and what is their total capacity? As regards training, the Minister of State mentioned the Army and the Garda. However, he omitted to mention the Civil Defence. Having been in charge of the Civil Defence, I am impressed at the manner in which it is prepared to adopt new methodologies to deal with whatever catastrophe arises.
The Civil Defence is not omitted as it is an important part of the overall plan.
As regards Deputy Stagg's question about iodine tablets, iodine tablets and medication are not matters for me but for the Department of Health. However, they are an integral part of the plan. It is the type, not the amount, of radioactivity which would emanate from a specific accident or incident at a nuclear plant, such as Sellafield, which is important. As the Deputy indicated, iodine would not be helpful for some types of radioactivity. However, it has been established by the experts that iodine tablets would be helpful for some types of radioactivity. That will be established at an early stage. The Minister for Health and Children will have supplies of up to date tablets and will distribute them to every household.
As regards advice to the public, the plan is in situ. I cannot take any credit for the plan which has been in place since before 1992. The present emergency plan has been in place since 1992. It is institutional in nature in that the relevant institutions will be called upon when necessary. Awareness has been substantially raised through the work of the task force on emergency planning which communicates with the State institutions, including the Civil Defence, the local authorities, the fire service, etc.
What about the people?
The plan is in place and advice on how to handle the situation will be available to people through the information leaflet. That will tell them how information and advice will be given to the public, the types of emergency the plan addresses, how people will be affected and how the public will be alerted. It will also contain counter measures and advice on what people should do.
