Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 17 Oct 2001

Vol. 542 No. 3

Written Answers. - Nuclear Plants.

Trevor Sargent

Ceist:

41 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the number of meetings of the interdepartmental committee on Sellafield and nuclear affairs which has been held since the MOX was given the go ahead; and the plan of action which is being implemented to have this decision reversed. [24326/01]

Ruairí Quinn

Ceist:

52 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she will make a statement on the Government's contacts with the British authorities regarding the proposal to authorise the opening of the MOX plant at Sellafield, Cumbria. [23715/01]

Minister of State at the Department of Public Enterprise (Mr. Jacob)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 41 and 52 together.

I refer the Deputies to my response to Private Notice Questions on 4 October 2001. In that response, I outlined the Government's concerns about the UK government's decision to give the go-ahead to the Sellafield MOX plant and the legal action which the Irish Government has embarked upon.

The legal action against the UK under the OSPAR Convention is proceeding on schedule and an arbitration tribunal is in the process of being established under that convention to consider this case. On 5 October 2001, officials from my Department, accompanied by Ireland's legal advisers, met their UK counterparts to discuss the legal procedures associated with the establishment of the tribunal. At that meeting, the Irish delegation also reiterated the Irish Government's total opposition to the MOX plant. In addition to the continuing progress of the legal action under OSPAR, the Irish Government is finalising consideration of further legal options under both EU and UN law.

I have also written to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Secretary of State for Health reiterating Ireland's opposition to the MOX plant and calling on the UK government to suspend with immediate effect the authorisation of the MOX plant and to take the necessary steps to halt, also with immediate effect, all transportations of radioactive materials in and around the Irish Sea to and from the MOX plant. I have also informed them that we will be deciding on further legal actions under EU and-or UN law in the near future.

In my reply to the Private Notice Questions on 4 October 2001, I also outlined the depth of the Irish Government's opposition to the MOX plant conveyed repeatedly to the UK government over the past number of years. In addition, the Taoiseach has personally conveyed to Prime Minister Blair the Irish Government's implacable opposition to the decision to proceed with the MOX plant.

With regard to the interdepartmental committee on Sellafield and nuclear affairs, I presume the Deputy is referring to the Ministerial Committee on Nuclear Safety which was established by Government in 1998 and whose broad terms of reference encompass all matters relating to nuclear safety and radiological protection as well as the ongoing campaign against Sellafield.

This committee has not met since the UK Government's decision of 3 October 2001 on the MOX plant. However, the proposed MOX plant is among a number of Sellafield related issues which have been on the committee's work programme for some time now. The MOX plant and the Government's campaign against the plant is a key agenda item. The Government's approach and opposition to the plant has been discussed and supported at numerous meetings of the committee since the committee was established in 1998.

The basic objective of the Irish Government's legal action in regard to the MOX plant is to over-turn the UK government's decision of 3 October 2001 and the Government is determined to achieve that objective by every means possible.

Question No. 42 answered with Question No. 12.