Vol. 451 No. 8
254 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the legal action, if any, the Government will take against BNFL in view of the recent High Court decision on the matter; and the action, if any, he is taking to bring about the closure of the plant and to regulate its operations. [7267/95]
The Government is committed to taking all possible action open to it to secure the objective of the closure of the Sellafield plant. Such action includes the possibility of taking legal action. The Government's Policy Agreement A Government of Renewal sets out a series of actions which the Government will pursue in relation to Sellafield. My Department has therefore drawn up a blueprint to implement the various commitments on Sellafield and the Irish Sea, including a re-assessment of the legal possibilities of taking a court case against Sellafield and the question of requesting arbitration on THORP's radioactive discharges into the Irish Sea under the Paris Convention on marine pollution. I have asked the Attorney General to advise me as a matter of urgency on these legal matters. A task force of Ministers and official experts, whose aim will be to develop a concerted strategy for implementing the Government's proposals on Sellafield, has been set up. This is the first comprehensive initiative taken by any Government to date to deal with the problems of Sellafield and it illustrates the Government's serious intent to tackle an issue that is of major concern to the Irish people.
