Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

Everybody acknowledges that this was a major natural disaster which caused significant loss of life. That is the most important concern we should have. Second, what must be acknowledged is the heroism being demonstrated not only by those who are risking their lives and health trying to reduce the contamination from the Fukushima nuclear plant but also by those who are working at search and rescue in appalling conditions. These include sub-zero temperatures, daily aftershocks and the risk of another significant earthquake.

As the Minister said, if there is a country in the world which has buildings that can withstand earthquakes, it is Japan. Every time an earthquake occurs people refer to Japan as the example of best practice. Every month children in preschools and primary schools participate in drills, and that practice permeates every walk of life. This country was prepared. However, what could not be prepared for was the scale of the earthquake and the damage done by the massive tsunami. Much of the news footage of the tsunami was horrific and early estimates of the damage done run to $200 billion.

Although to date nobody has died as a result of damage to the Fukushima nuclear plant, it is already ranked by nuclear authorities as the second worst nuclear disaster after Chernobyl, and that is a situation that is contained. The consequences of such a disaster are not immediate. They cannot be easily captured on television screens. There are reports of food contamination and high radiation levels in the oceans, which obviously will have a knock-on effect in the food chain. Problems with the water supply are also beginning to emerge. These are the early problems and the world, particularly Japan, hopes they will be contained.

The economic fall-out has become obvious as well. This is a matter to which we should give a great deal of attention. There is an economic fall-out from the high dependency on nuclear power. The rolling blackouts are unlikely to be temporary and not only will they hinder normal domestic life but they will impact on industrial production. The knock-on effects include, for example, consumers of Japanese goods switching to other markets. The car industry is a case in point. The most serious questions raised relate to long-term matters such as a secure power supply, particularly in a situation of peak oil. The degree of panic in Japan is understandable but it appears to have spread to neighbouring countries, where there is evidence of panic buying of food, iodine tablets and so forth.

While Ireland is not in a part of the world that is prone to earthquakes, radioactive material was found in parts of Ireland following the Chernobyl disaster, which demonstrates the reach of contamination. Nuclear accidents are disasters that do not follow a script. While such plants provide a secure energy source that is relatively cheap over the lifetime of the plant, when there is an accident there is nothing minor about the consequences and nothing cheap about the human, economic and environmental problems. If this awful tragedy produces anything positive, it must be that it will open the debate on nuclear power. We cannot express concerns and condemn others if we are prepared to accept the product by way of a pipeline from other countries to secure our supply. We must pull out all the stops to become a world leader in alternative energy production. That will give this country authority on the issue.

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