Vol. 568 No. 1
723 Mr. O'Connor asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if strong action will be taken in respect of the threat from Sellafield; if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of many communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15504/03]
I refer to the replies to Questions Nos. 122 and 155 of 14 May and No. 388 of 20 May 2003. Oral hearings in Ireland's action under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) relating to the MOX plant at Sellafield begin today in The Hague. This is the culmination of two years of legal actions by this Government in respect of the MOX plant. The hearings will take place before a five member arbitral tribunal that has been established under the dispute resolution procedures of UNCLOS.
This case relates to the pollution arising from the discharge of radioactive waste from the plant and its associated facilities to the Irish Sea, the inadequacy of the environmental assessment undertaken by the UK Government in relation to the facility and the failure properly to assess the risk of terrorist attack on the Sellafield site or on international movements of radioactive materials associated with the site. The case is the second of two international legal actions undertaken by Ireland against the UK in relation to the Sellafield MOX plant.
