Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 1 Apr 2003

Vol. 564 No. 1

Priority Questions. - Nuclear Safety.

Emmet Stagg

Question:

81 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to newspaper accounts of a report commissioned by the environmental organisation, Greenpeace, showing that up to 3.5 million people could die in the event of a terrorist attack on a British nuclear installation, such as Sellafield; the assurances he has sought or received from the British authorities regarding the security of such installations in view of the potential danger to the public and the environment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8816/03]

Mr. Cullen

I am aware of media references to three reports commissioned by the UK branch of Greenpeace which apparently emphasise the dangers associated with a terrorist attack on Sellafield. In a recent press statement, Greenpeace UK has said that these reports are still in draft form and are in the process of completion. Obviously, Ireland will have a keen interest in these reports and, when published, we will study them carefully.

I can 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. However, because 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 it to. The level of security information available to Irish authorities is one of the issues in the current legal action under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. We firmly believe there is greater scope for higher quality exchanges while recognising and respecting legitimate security concerns.

Mr. Stagg

The Minister might not be aware that the reports have been completed.

Mr. Cullen

I was actually quoting Greenpeace when I said that.

Mr. Stagg

So am I and I may be a bit more up-to-date in that respect. Is the Minister aware that Greenpeace has decided to suppress the details of the report because of the information contained in them which shows that the total lack of security, at Sellafield in particular, is such that any terrorist who wished to blow up Sellafield would have no difficulty doing so? Is he aware that there is no effective plan to limit the effect of any such action on the population and that the reports demonstrate that 3.6 million people in Britain and Ireland would be at serious risk if such an attack were to occur?

Is the Minister aware that a diversion of a jumbo jet from its current course would only take three to four minutes for it to crash into Sellafield? In particular, has the Minister taken up the issue of the most vulnerable part of Sellafield in that regard which is the storage of highly active liquid waste in over-ground tanks? These tanks have been described as being at high risk from explosion and from chain reaction and would yield a fall-out 25 times that arising from Chernobyl. Has the Minister taken any particular action against the use of these tanks and towards the changing of the liquid into a glass form which could be stored more safely?

Mr. Cullen

I am well aware of the points the Deputy has made. My concerns and those of the Government reflect his as he well knows. We are proceeding against the UK authorities on these issues in two specific areas. One area is under the OSPAR Convention. I hope we will have the results of that particular case, which deals with the last aspect of the Deputy's question, available within the next month or two. We are awaiting the outcome of OSPAR. The UNCLOS case, to which I just referred, is well under way. It is scheduled for an oral hearing in June of this year.

I have made the point on numerous occasions that the Government feels strongly about the sort of security arrangements that are in place. I recognise, of course, that they are a matter for the British authorities. Nevertheless, we believe that the Government, through my Department and the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, should have more information. We are in contact with the authorities on a regular basis and in contact with British Government Ministers. I know the Taoiseach has raised the issue of Sellafield with the British Prime Minister also. There is no doubt in the British authorities' minds, given the fact that we have proceeded with the two cases to which I have just referred, as to the Government's serious concerns in regard to the operation of Sellafield and the storage etc. of nuclear waste there.

Mr. Stagg

There is no effective plan to limit the effect of any such accident or explosion or terrorist attack. Is the Minister aware of the exercise carried out by the British nuclear authorities and the health and safety authorities of a simulated attack by a jumbo jet on a power station in Essex? It was described as high farce arising from the inadequacy of the ability of the authorities to respond. In view of that high farce description, has the Minister raised this matter given that Ireland would be directly affected by any such attack?

Given that Ireland is now part of the coalition of the willing, of which Britain is an important part, and that there is an increased risk of terrorist attack arising from our involvement in that, has the Minister sought any increase in the precautions or any increased security to cover the increased risk which is evident and has been written about in some detail? Would the Minister, in doing that, raise with the British authorities the contrast between this ring of steel which has been put around Heathrow Airport, for a relatively minor risk in comparison to the 3.6 million people who would be at risk from Sellafield going up, and the minimal security around Sellafield today?

Mr. Cullen

I agree with the Deputy. I clarify again that the Government is not satisfied. It is not happy with the UK approach.

Mr. Stagg

What is being done about it?

Mr. Cullen

I just informed the Deputy, and he is well aware of this as he follows the issue closely, that we have had to take legal action against the UK authorities under two major international conventions. We have gone past the rhetoric and have moved to serious action. The Attorney General, whom I compliment on the level of his input and on his knowledge of this issue, apart from the legal proceedings involved, has been most impressive internationally in the way he has gone about these cases.

As the Deputy would know the Office for Civil Nuclear Safety, OCNS, is responsible for security within the UK. It assures us that the highest and most stringent security measures are put in place. We would like to have a greater and deeper knowledge of what these stringent security measures are concerning Sellafield. That is the purpose of the two cases. We have demonstrated, not just to the British Government but internationally, that it is no longer acceptable for neighbouring nuclear countries not to be part and parcel of the knowledge base that forms the nuclear country's opinion of what security in the area entails. Other countries now support Ireland on this.

A country cannot operate on its own without reference to its neighbouring country. That was one of the successes in an earlier judgment that Ireland got internationally and which was warmly welcomed by others. We have been involved on a long complicated and detailed process through the Deputy's time in Government and there are many legal issues involved but our determination and our resolve in this issue and the Taoiseach's resolve are clear.