Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 March 2022
123. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the plans the Government has in place to protect persons living in Ireland from the fallout from a nuclear disaster if a nuclear power plant is damaged in an attack in Ukraine. [13997/22]
View answerIreland has a comprehensive National Plan for Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Exposures which details our planning and preparedness for a national response to a major nuclear incident. My Department is the Lead Government Department under the plan with responsibility for delivering a whole of Government response to any emergency, supported by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Plan is available at www.gov.ie.
The plan sets out the trigger points which would require the National Emergency Coordination Group (NECG) to be convened and for the plan to be invoked. These include specific notifications to Irish authorities of nuclear or radiological emergencies abroad. While my Department does not believe the current circumstances require either the NECG to be convened or that the plan to be brought into operation, it continues to liaise with the EPA and other Departments and agencies as the situation unfolds.
