I am disappointed everyone is leaving as I thought they would stay to hear my speech. I welcome the Minister of State and I compliment him on his activities in relation to this legislation and with regard to Sellafield. This Bill brings Ireland up to speed with an international agreement to which we have already agreed and which applies to all countries. Its provisions are clear and the policing body in Ireland will be the Radiological Protection Institute, which is a significant body that is politically independent and is up to date on the reality of this issue.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union there has been a continuing shift in international political relationships. It is similar to the 1814 Congress of Vienna and the following age of Metternich, although historians present may correct me. At that time there was a change in the European and world order similar to the change we are experiencing now. It is good in that countries which were not democracies previously are now becoming democracies, but other countries, such as India and Pakistan frighten me, as do many others with the potential for nuclear weapons use in conflicts between them. It is important to have the steady hand of America on the world stage. We are concerned by issues in Chechnya as well as the instability in other states in that area, which seems corrupt in many ways. There seems to be increased stability in Russia of late and the main players in the field should agree to influence the smaller countries which have nuclear weapons.
The capacity of any nuclear weapon to fundamentally and utterly destroy life now and for future generations with radioactive fallout is very frightening and measures such as this need the support of all nations. We are playing our part with this Bill, although it is a small measure. We do not have a nuclear industry. There is some academic research in Cork which might theoretically fall under the sphere of influence of the Bill, but we are very much in agreement with the spirit of the Bill.
There are military activities in the Sellafield complex. Obviously we are all opposed to reprocessing at Sellafield but I am also concerned about its military activities. We rely on the policing of this treaty to ensure that what is taking place there is fully understood and declared. I am not convinced this is the case but I do not know enough about it other than to express my concern. Last year we visited the Los Alamos research centre in San Francisco. There is also concern about what is taking place there. However, the reality is that the military complexes in Britain and America are effectively a law unto themselves. I am concerned about their activities. It is important that the Minister continues to raise these issues abroad and that they are discussed by this Parliament.
The Minister not only referred to disarmament and to the proliferation of nuclear arms but also to our position on nuclear safety. While it is tangential to this Bill, I wish to raise Nirex and the proposed underground storage of nuclear waste near the Sellafield complex. This is a fundamental issue of nuclear safety involving Ireland and the protection of our environment. It is not an arms issue but it is a nuclear one. It is an issue of safety, not just for this generation or the next one but for those thousands of years in the future. Britain may have further proposals for the long-term storage of its nuclear waste. I am confident that the Minister, with the full support of the Opposition as well as the Government, will be up to date on this issue.
Some of the press leaks and documents which have come into the public domain on the operation of Sellafield demonstrate that what is said and done by the Minister of the day, whether it is Deputy Stagg, Senator Avril Doyle or Deputy Jacob, is important and has an impact. That is why it is important that we continue to discuss these issues and take the same approach.
This is important legislation. We are playing our part in the international arena. As I said, the Radiological Protection Institute will play an important role in this. Stable countries have access to nuclear weapons. However, I am concerned about countries such as Zimbabwe where, from what I can gather from media reports, Robert Mugabe seems to be starting a race war, having access to nuclear weapons. We do not know what nuclear weapons some of these countries have. We must be vigilant regarding the leaderships of countries on the periphery of the Middle East which are inherently unstable and have nuclear weapons. Ireland is clearly playing its part in the international arena, which I welcome. I welcome the Bill.