Vol. 572 No. 5
51 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if, in view of the reports that the Thorp nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield is to close in seven years, he will urge the British authorities to bring forward the closure date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23617/03]
I assume that the Parliamentary Question refers to media reports in August 2003 which suggested that the Thorp nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield would close in 2010. Following these reports, I immediately wrote to Ms Patricia Hewitt, the UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, to seek clarification on the matter. Ms Hewitt has since informed me that neither British Nuclear Fuels Limited nor the British Government has made any such announcement and that the British Government's position on the Thorp reprocessing plant is as set out in her Government's White Paper of July 2002 on Managing the Nuclear Legacy.
Ms Hewitt also pointed out to me that British Nuclear Fuels Limited expects to complete its existing order book for reprocessing spent fuel at the Thorp reprocessing plant by 2010 and that operation of the Thorp reprocessing plant beyond completion of the existing order book would be dependent on there being new contracts for reprocessing further spent fuel at the plant. She also informed me that any new reprocessing contracts for the Thorp reprocessing plant would require British Government approval.
The Irish Government has taken, and will continue to take, a proactive role in campaigning against reprocessing operations at Sellafield. An Agreed Programme for Government has stated that we regard the continued existence of Sellafield as an unacceptable threat to Ireland, that it should be safely closed and that we will use every diplomatic and legal route available to us to remove this threat.
Naturally, I would welcome the closure of the Thorp reprocessing plant and I will continue to keep the pressure on the British Government to close the plant safely. I am arranging to meet with the recently appointed UK Minister for Energy and the UK Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the coming weeks to discuss Ireland's concerns about Sellafield, including the reprocessing activities at the plant.
