I am pleased to be in the Seanad to report on the amendments made to the Containment of Nuclear Weapons Bill 2000 during its passage through the Dáil. I have said that some time has passed since the Bill was passed by the Seanad. Senators will recall that it was passed by the House in May 2000 and it passed Second Stage in the Dáil in February 2001. An issue arose at that point, however, concerning the administration and implementation of the requirements of the Bill as they relate to the national authority vis-à-vis the role of the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. These issues necessitated consultation with, inter alia, the European Union, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners. The fact that the State initiated legal action against the UK in respect of Sellafield around that time, when taken with the heightened pressure on emergency planning and management arising from the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, meant that resources in the Department were stretched beyond capacity at that time. This, in turn, resulted in a delay in progressing the Bill to Committee Stage.
Progress was delayed because the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment had reservations about the role accorded to them in respect of administrative and implementation issues arising from the Bill. They saw little or no role for them, in effect, in implementing the provisions of the Bill, most notably in the context of the completion of the Internal Market of the European Union. Nevertheless, the Revenue Commissioners and the Department have information about imports, if any, into Ireland from outside the EU and about exports, if any, of equipment and materials specified in Annex II of the protocol.
It was agreed following consultation between my Department, the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment that the implementing regulations to be made when the Bill is enacted will stipulate that the information required to be provided by persons engaged in any of the activities set out in the protocol and the Bill should be provided to the national authority, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland. It is not intended at this time, therefore, that the implementing regulations will stipulate a role for the Revenue Commissioners or the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The matter will be reviewed, in consultation with all parties, some two or three years after implementation. Any adjustments necessary or desirable can be carried out, arising from that review, based on actual experience. This has been agreed between the parties as a sensible approach in the circumstances. The Bill resumed its passage through the Dáil when the issues were resolved as indicated. It passed Committee Stage on 8 October and Report and Final Stages in the Dáil on 5 November last.
Although this is a comparatively straightforward Bill and one on which there is a high degree of consensus, it is nevertheless very important. The enactment of the Bill is necessary to enshrine the necessary provisions in Irish law to enable Ireland to ratify and implement its obligations under the protocol to the existing 1973 nuclear safeguards agreement between the 13 non-nuclear weapons states of the European Atomic Energy Community, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European Atomic Energy Community itself. The safeguards agreement is a key element of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons treaty, which is the cornerstone of international nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. The safeguards agreement provides the mechanism by which the IAEA, and through it the international community, can be satisfied that states are fulfilling their obligations under the non-proliferation treaty.
The protocol to the safeguards agreement was signed up to by the 13 non-nuclear weapons states of EURATOM in 1998. It aims to strengthen the effectiveness of the existing safeguards regime by bringing specified equipment and material within the scope of the safeguards agreement. The protocol relates to equipment and material which are ostensibly for the peaceful production of nuclear energy, but which could be used by rogue states, for example, to produce nuclear weapons. The ratification of the protocol is in line with Ireland's long-standing position in respect of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.
I have given an overview of the background to this Bill and, with the permission of the Chair, I would like to discuss the first group of amendments made to the Bill in the Dáil. The amendments in the first group are amendments Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, 5 to 7, inclusive, 9 and 10, 13 and 14, and 19 to 24, inclusive. Senators will have noted that a large proportion of these amendments are of a drafting and presentational nature. They have not altered the substance of the Bill in any way. I am sure Senators will understand if I do not deal with the amendments in question individually, but I will mention a few of them. I will be happy to clarify the position in respect of other amendments if Members so desire.
Amendment No. 2 relates to the definition of "Minister". When the Bill was passed by the Seanad in May 2000, responsibility for nuclear safety matters rested with the then Minister for Public Enterprise. Subsequent changes in ministerial functions and responsibilities mean that responsibility for nuclear safety now rests with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Hence, this amendment was necessary.
Amendments Nos. 9 and 10, which are also Opposition amendments, relate to section 4 of the Bill. This section refers to the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, or such other body as may from time to time be prescribed as the national authority in place of the institute, as the designated national authority for carrying out the State's obligations under the protocol. The amendment, which deleted the text in subsections 4(1) and 4(2) referring to "such other body", was accepted on the grounds that the inclusion of the text in this section was superfluous because it was already covered in the definition of national authority in section 2.
Amendments Nos. 20 and 21, also Opposition amendments, concern the protocol which is scheduled to the Bill and effectively delete all the foreign language text from that part of the protocol relating to the signature of the respective States to the protocol. They have the effect of making the text clearer and more comprehensible and have no impact on the legal meaning or interpretation, according to legal advice. The English language text is retained in full. These amendments should also be seen in the context of amendment No. 7, which relates to the definition of "Protocol" in section 2.
Amendments Nos. 22, 23 and 24 all relate to the Title and provide for the insertion of the dates when the protocol, the safeguards agreement and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons were signed.
I have listed the detail of the changes effected through the amendments in the first group. They do not change the substance of the Bill in any way and they are very much textual. Many of them resulted from my acceptance of Opposition amendments on Committee Stage. They have improved the substance of the Bill.
