Vol. 568 No. 5
103 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government the steps he intends to take to secure support from other countries for the closure of the Sellafield nuclear plant at the forthcoming meeting of the OSPAR Convention in Portugal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16527/03]
The next ministerial meeting of the OSPAR Convention will be held in Bremen in Germany on 25 and 26 June next. I will attend on behalf of Ireland. The ministerial meeting will, inter alia, review progress on the agreement reached at Sintra in 1998. That agreement, known as the Sintra strategy, sets out a strategy in regard to radioactive substances so that, through progressive and substantial reductions in discharges of such substances, the concentrations of artificial radionuclides in the marine environment above historic levels are close to zero by 2020. Ministers will consider a progress report from the OSPAR commission on the implementation of the strategy and will, it is expected, comment on that report in a declaration. At Bremen, I intend to use every opportunity to engage in dialogue at the meeting and with others in relation to Ireland's concerns regarding Sellafield and to seek support for our policies on these issues.
