Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 July 2017
1031. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will report on the recent meeting of the parties to the Espoo Convention including the position Ireland took on the findings of the implementation committee of the convention on the proposed new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset. [34822/17]
View answer1032. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the position Ireland took at the recent meeting of the parties to the Espoo Convention on the environmental impact assessment of proposals to extend the lifetimes of nuclear plants currently reaching the end of their originally envisaged periods of operation. [34823/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1031 and 1032 together.
The questions refer to the United Nation’s Espoo Convention which is concerned with environmental impact assessments in a transboundary context. The lead Department in Ireland for the Convention is the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government which liaises as appropriate with other Departments and Agencies on particular issues. Ireland was not represented at the recent Espoo Convention Meeting of the Parties which took place in Minsk, Belarus.
I can, however, inform the Deputy that a meeting took place in Dublin in April of this year, between UK officials and representatives from both the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government and my Department, regarding the Espoo Convention and the development of new nuclear power plants in the UK. At that meeting the UK committed to notify Ireland of all transboundary related issues for future new nuclear power plants as a matter of policy, and also to notify Ireland in the event of any application by the UK authorities for any material change to the existing planning permission at the Hinkley Point C site.
In relation to ageing infrastructure of the nuclear power plant fleet, I can inform the Deputy that this issue is closely monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and is covered in some detail by the European Union’s Nuclear Safety Directive, which is due to be transposed later this year.
