The representatives of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland are pleased to be here today at the committee's invitation to make a short presentation on a number of proposals emanating from the European Union on nuclear safety. After our presentation, we will be happy to respond to questions.
The committee will have received information notes from the Department on all of the proposals made. I will start by taking the European Commission's proposals embodied in COM (2005) 119, COM (2005) 444, COM (2005) 445 and COM (2006) 42 as all four relate to the proposed seventh framework programme of the European Atomic Energy Community, also known as EURATOM, of Community assistance for nuclear research and training activities in the years 2007 to 2011. The seventh framework programme is the latest in a series of multi-annual programmes for the provision of assistance by the Commission for nuclear research and training activities in the European Atomic Energy Community and will cover the period 2007 to 2011. The sixth framework programme runs until the end of this year.
The EURATOM Treaty, to which all EU member states are a party, facilitates investment in and encourages ventures to ensure the establishment of the basic installations necessary for the development of nuclear energy facilities in the European Community. In this connection, under chapter 1 of the treaty, the Commission is responsible for promoting and facilitating nuclear research in member states and complementing it by carrying out a European Community research and training programme. The legislative basis for the programme is Article 7, chapter 1 of the treaty, under which EU research and training programmes are determined by the Council acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission. The basic principle of the programme is to stimulate, organise and exploit co-operation in nuclear research, ranging from joint EU projects and networks to national research programmes, large technology initiatives and infrastructure with an EU dimension.
The framework programme as proposed in COM (2005) 119 has been adopted by Council, apart from the articles dealing with funding provisions. The programme is organised into two specific programmes detailed in COM (2005) 444 and COM (2005) 445, one of which covers research in nuclear fusion, nuclear fission and radiation protection, while the other covers the activities of the Joint Research Centre operated by the Commission. While the programmes have been discussed in the Council working group, they have not yet been adopted by the Council as they must await budget allocations which await finalisation in the coming months in the context of the financial perspectives of the European Union. In the Commission's proposals, as set out in COM (2005) 119, a budget of some €3,100 million was proposed for the overall programme, comprising over €2,150 million for nuclear fusion research, €400 million for nuclear fission and radiation protection research and €540 million for joint research centre activities. The rules for the participation of undertakings, research centres and universities in activities eligible for assistance under the programme and the dissemination of research results are set out in COM (2006) 42. Depending on the nature of the project and body or organisation being assisted, the level of assistance under the programme can range from 40% to 100% of the cost of the research activity.
The Commission sees nuclear fusion as having the potential to make a major contribution to the realisation of a sustainable and secure energy supply for the European Union and worldwide and believes its successful development would provide energy which was safe, sustainable and environmentally friendly. Most member states share this view. Assistance under the framework programme will be directed towards developing the international thermonuclear research reactor, known as ITER, an experimental fusion reactor to be located in France. It will also be aimed at developing the knowledge base for prototype fusion reactors. The ITER project is an international one promoted by the European Union, the USA, Japan, China, South Korea and the Russian Federation. However, it is not possible at this stage to say when exactly nuclear fusion will provide a viable energy source. It could be 30 years or more away.
In regard to nuclear fission and radiation protection research, the objective of the framework programme is to promote the safe use and exploitation of nuclear fission and radiation in industry and medicine in accordance with the EURATOM Treaty. Assistance will be aimed at ensuring operational safety of existing and future nuclear installations, assisting research into the safe management, including disposal, of radioactive waste, and investigating and assessing the potential of advanced reactor systems such as generation IV, particularly their safety, proliferation resistance and waste management aspects. I will refer again to generation IV reactor systems as such systems are the subject of COM (2005) 222.
The Joint Research Centre, JRC, activities covered by the programme include research into medical applications, the development of effective solutions for the management of high level nuclear waste and the safety of existing and new nuclear fuel cycles, as well as western and Russian designed reactor types. The programme will also cover the JRC's role in co-ordinating the EU contribution to the international generation IV reactor research and development programme.
Overall, financially, a large proportion of the programme is devoted to nuclear fusion which makes use of a fuel source, of which essentially there is an unlimited supply and which would avoid many of the difficulties associated with nuclear fission, in particular, with regard to safety and the generation of long-life radioactive waste. Ireland has, therefore, not objected to continuing EU research into nuclear fusion but considers that EU funding in this field needs careful monitoring, given that the reality is that nuclear fusion is still a long way off.
In regard to nuclear fission, while some assistance will be directed at researching the potential of future reactors, the over-riding emphasis in the programme is on nuclear safety, something to which the Government does not object. Similarly, we do not object to the radiation protection activities which it is envisaged will receive assistance under the programme.
COM (2005) 222 relates to a Council decision which will authorise the Commission to negotiate the accession of EURATOM to the international framework agreement among the members of the generation IV international forum in the field of nuclear-related research. The decision was adopted by the Council on 21 December 2005. The generation IV international forum initiative was launched by the United States at the beginning of 2000. Its aim is to facilitate international co-operation in the field of research and development on the next generation of nuclear energy systems capable of providing a reliable supply of energy while satisfactorily addressing nuclear safety, waste, proliferation and public perception concerns. Several European countries — the United Kingdom, France and Switzerland — as well as Japan, Korea, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Canada have joined in this effort. To this end, they have signed the charter of the generation IV international forum known as the GIF.
The Commission decided in November 2002 that the European Atomic Energy Agency should adhere to the charter which was subsequently signed on behalf of EURATOM on 30 July 2003. Essentially, it is a political agreement with no financial implications. In November 2004 the United States produced a draft framework agreement which, effectively, translated the provisions of the charter into a legally binding framework which would enable research and development work at project level, in addition to the sharing of results. In its decision of 21 December 2005 the Council gave the go-ahead to the Commission to negotiate Community accession to the agreement.
The objective of the generation IV project is to develop nuclear systems with advanced nuclear safety, improved nuclear non-proliferation resistance, physical protection and minimised radioactive waste features. Generation IV reactors include a range of reactor designs which have the potential to burn nuclear fuels much more efficiently than current reactors, thus extending the life of nuclear fuel reserves, and to produce smaller quantities of high level radioactive waste. The various fuel cycles proposed for the reactors are also intended to minimise the risk of diversion of nuclear materials for clandestine purposes.
Given its opposition to nuclear energy, Ireland had concerns about the accession of EURATOM to the international agreement. It, therefore, voted against the proposaI. However, as the concept of qualified majority voting applied and there was no blocking minority against it, the proposal was adopted.
The Community's financial input to the generation IV project will be via the EURATOM seventh and subsequent framework programmes. As I mentioned, Community assistance for the project is essentially aimed at assessing the potential of future reactors in terms of safety, non-proliferation and waste management.
I turn to COM (2005) 673, a proposed Council directive on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. The directive is still under discussion at the Council working group. It is intended to update and replace Council Directive 92/3/EURATOM of February 1992 on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste between members states and into and out of the Community. While it will apply to radioactive waste, it also proposes to extend the scope of the 1992 directive to include spent fuel, something Ireland welcomes.
The existing 1992 Council directive has given rise to uncertainties in that spent fuel for which no use is foreseen is considered to be radioactive waste and shipments of such materials are subject to the uniform control procedure laid down in the directive. On the other hand, shipments of spent fuel for reprocessing are not subject to such a procedure as such fuel is not regarded as waste for the purposes of the 1992 directive. This issue is addressed by the inclusion of spent fuel, whether it be for reprocessing, within the scope of the proposed new directive. The matter is still under discussion at the working group.
The Commission considers that the modifications to Directive 92/3 are justified to ensure consistency with the latest EURATOM directives, in particular, Council Directive 2003/122/EURATOM of 22 December of 2003 on the control of high activity sealed radioactive sources and orphan sources. Furthermore, it sees a need for consistency with other international provisions which have evolved since the 1992 directive came into force, in particular, the International Atomic Eenergy Agency's joint convention on the safety of spent fuel management and the safety of radioactive waste management, to which the Community acceded on 2 January this year. The proposed new directive does not set out the standards of safety that will have to be adhered to in the shipment of radioactive waste or spent fuel. Operations involved in such shipments, by whatever mode, are subject to a number of requirements under existing Community and international law for the safe transport of radioactive materials.
Given that Ireland has no nuclear power or nuclear fuel cycle facilities, the proposed new directive will have little, if any, direct implications for us. Leaving aside the proposed inclusion of spent nuclear fuel, whether it be for reprocessing, within the scope of the new directive, it will update and reinforce the system of control and prior authorisation of shipments of radioactive materials as established under the 1992 directive and is, therefore, a positive and welcome development from the safety viewpoint.
