Vol. 564 No. 1
293 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his plans to impress on the British Government the need to tighten security at Sellafield following recent vis its by the press which reveals very lax security in place. [8799/03]
I am aware of media references to security at the Sellafield nuclear installations and I am concerned that the strictest possible measures should be in place there at all times. I assure the Deputy that there is regular high level contact with the UK authorities regarding security around Sellafield and I have recently written to the responsible Minister expressing Ireland's concerns in this regard. As the UK feels constrained for security reasons in what it can say, it does not take Irish authorities into its confidence in relation to security measures to the extent we would wish. The level of security information available to Irish authorities is one of the matters involved in the current legal action under the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS). While we recognise and respect legitimate security concerns, there is greater scope for higher quality exchanges.
