Kathleen Lynch
Ceist:41 Kathleen Lynch asked the Minister for the Marine the proposals, if any, there are to carry out an inventory of all munitions dumpsites in the context of OSPAR; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11050/96]
Written Answers. - Management of Munitions Dumpsites.
At a recent working group meeting of the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, OSPAR, Ireland called on Contracting Parties to the Convention to incorporate into its Quality Status Report, (QSR), an inventory of sites which had been used for the dumping of munitions. The completion of an inventory would be the first step towards the development of guidelines for the management and monitoring of such sites. Ireland was represented at that meeting by an officer of the Marine Institute. Our proposal has been agreed to at OSPAR.
Preparations are under way for the completion of an environmental QSR for the entire area covered by OSPAR. For the purpose of the report the Convention area has been divided into five sub-regions. Ireland and the UK are responsible for the preparation of the report in respect of Region III which includes the Irish Sea, Celtic Sea, the area to the west of Ireland and the area to the west of Scotland.
The UK authorities have advised me that they do not have specific details of the quantities of munitions dumped off the Irish coast because very few records for the period in question are still available. They assure me that they have supplied the Department with all information available to them which I in turn have made available to all Deputies in response to a number of parliamentary questions.
The best scientific evidence available at this stage is that if sites are left undisturbed, they will pose no danger. The UK authorities have assured me that if monitoring of water quality and marine life which they carry out on a regular basis indicates any impact from the various munitions dumpsites in UK waters, consideration will be given to surveys and other investigations.
The problem which arose in the Beaufort's Dyke dumpsite was due to disturbance of the munitions during the laying of the gas pipeline. As the Deputies are aware the UK authorities have undertaken a survey of this site, the results of which are expected to be available later this year. An official from the Marine Institute is liaising with UK scientists throughout this survey. I will be meeting with the Scottish Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and the Environment and the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Defence in Dublin to assess the results of the survey and to discuss what further steps are required at that stage.
I will continue to seek both internationally at OSPAR and bilaterally with the UK for the development of guidelines for the management of dumpsites and where appropriate the putting in place of monitoring programmes.