When I moved the Adjournment I was making the point that the three mile zone had been flagrantly ignored and violated in the past with instances of nuclear submarines passing across the mouth of Dublin Bay. I also made the point that we would have to do more than pass a Bill in this House to ensure that our coastal waters and our coastline are protected from these nuclear vessels.
To go some way towards making the legislation more effective, the Government must declare our territorial waters a nuclear free zone. The Ministers for Defence, Foreign Affairs and the Marine must combine resources and political clout to take this message to the nations responsible for the nuclear piracy of the Irish Sea and insist that our national territory and domestic legislation be taken seriously. A nuclear free zone means that no vessel carrying nuclear weapons or dangerous chemical substances should travel within the 12-mile territorial limit. In addition, nuclear propelled submarines should identify themselves and travel above water while travelling within the exclusion zone. This nuclear free zone must be declared on the enactment of this legislation. If this is not done the legislation will not be effective. It will be by-passed by the NATO and Soviet authorities in much the same way as they have by-passed the 1959 Act which declared a three-mile exclusion zone.
The Labour Party are not attempting to prohibit innocent passage of seagoing vessels but we regard the declaration of a nuclear free zone as a vital component of the legislation. In addition we, like other environmental groups, view the use of our waters by these military vessels with growing concern. We would like to see the Government take the initiative in making this declaration, not alone for our own safety but also to give leadership to other European countries who are concerned about the nuclear threat. New Zealand has already declared its territorial waters a nuclear free zone and Iceland has insisted on a 200-mile exclusion zone because it, too, was alarmed at the abuse to its coastal waters.
Ireland is not alone in its concern about nuclear submarines but it would be a first within the European Community if we took a final stand to protect the lives of our fishermen and people against the nuclear threat which stalks our coastline daily. Following the enactment of this legislation, together with our declaration of a nuclear free zone, the Government should move on to initiate legislation within the EC and through the International Maritime Organisation.
To identify the magnitude of the problem to this House, I should like to give some brief details about the risks which pertain in particular to Ireland. Since 1981 at least 36 fishermen have died in submarine related accidents. No country claimed responsibility. At present, there are 17 nuclear submarines based permanently on the Clyde estuary — ten American and seven British. Supporting them are two Dutch and three British conventional diesel-driven submarines whose responsibility it is to patrol the Irish Sea and Clyde approaches in order to detect intruding Soviet submarines. The Soviet submarines tend to shadow the NATO submarines but there is no known figure to tell us how many might be passing through Irish waters.
Clyde-based missile submarines spend about two months at sea. It is estimated by environmental and marine scientists that between rotation of shifts the submarines make more than 100 two-way journeys through the Irish Sea every year. It is about a ten hour trip between Scotland and the Tuskar Rock and from there they go deep into the ocean. The majority of the submarines carry American Poseidon missiles. Four British submarines carry 16 missiles with six independent Chevaline warheads. Each of these 96 nuclear bombs has an explosive force of 40 kiltons, which is about four times the size of the bombs which devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is a long way from the cannon shot rule referred to in the Minister's speech. It is perhaps nothing less than a miracle that there has not been a major nuclear catastrophe off our coastline over the last 20 years, although there have been at least 17 known accidents, involving submarines, and the details have been documented by marine scientists.
What is most startling about these nuclear vessels is that we have no knowledge of where they are at any given time. We can only guess at their cargo and we have no possible protection should any of them have a major nuclear accident. Unlike land-based nuclear reactors, submarines do not have any containment area, so a nuclear accident would have far reaching coastal and land repercussions. Once again, we can only guess at the possible outcome, but a useful yardstick is the Chernobyl reactor which had a containment area which held back about 95 per cent of the nuclear contamination. The remaining 5 per cent escaped to do untold damage to crops and cattle across Europe. This example gives some small indication of what might happen if the nuclear carrying submarines should run into serious problems beneath our coastline. There would be no containment and these islands would become a wasteland for decades, maybe centuries.
It is not alarmist to point to the reality of the facts. These submarines pose a growing threat to Ireland. We need to bring it home to the military powers responsible that Ireland will not tolerate their negligent use of our waters. The Irish Sea is narrow and shallow — a most unsuitable area for such heavy military arsenal. There is nothing quite like this nuclear traffic, with its close proximity to land, in any other waterway in the world.
Two weeks ago we discussed Committee Stage of the Oil Pollution of the Sea (Civil Liability and Compensation) Bill when Deputies highlighted the dangers posed to our environment from oil spillages from tankers. That Bill attempts to come some way towards ensuring compensation for Ireland. In relation to the Bill before us today, it must be pointed out that there is no insurance whatsoever on these submarines, even though the risk of accident is greater and the possible consequences more damaging. However, the point could also be made that the potential damage is perhaps uninsurable.
I regret that the Bill gives no commitment to increase the naval or air operations around our waters to monitor the seas for incursions by foreign vessels. Indeed, if I could refer the House to the Estimates for Defence for the last two years, there has been a substantial cutback in allocations for ships and naval stores, also for marine pollution control measures. It is not possible to implement legislation of this nature without providing the backup naval or air personnel, equipped with the technological radar to detect underwater vessels. I understand that there is quite an inexpensive piece of sounding equipment which can be attached to light aircraft to detect submarines and eventually force them to surface. Perhaps the Minister might refer to this technology, which is in use in Britain at the moment.
Finally, I would urge the Minister that this legislation be accompanied by a declaration of nuclear-free status for the Irish territorial waters. Only such a declaration, followed by international legislation will guarantee that our waters will not be used by nuclear carrying vessels.
