Mr. James Fitzmaurice:

We see this merger going ahead. It is not the case that it will not go ahead at this stage. On the background to it, the board of the RPII examined the possible benefits and savings, if any, that might accrue through such a merger and we found there to be little or none. There is a possibility that a saving on the cost of the board of €60,000 a year could be made and that would be about it, but that would be eaten up with expenses of travelling to Wexford. It is estimated there are no real savings to be gained and that it will cost €800,000, or perhaps more, to effect the merger. The question that must be asked is that if a body is performing extremely well, doing its job, has a very high reputational value within the country with the stakeholders and internationally and it is not a good fit with another body ideologically, why go ahead with it? We recognise the budgetary constraints of the Government and that it is trying to do away with many of what have been classified as quangos but in this case it is a matter of throwing the baby out with the bathwater in so far as we do not see any gain. There is no gain for the public in Ireland or for the scientific community and there are only dangers.

If the merger is to go ahead despite that, we are trying to ensure a few amendments are made to the legislation that would at least make sure that the radiological aspect of the organisation is recognised. We propose that the letter "R" be put into the title of the EPA such that it would be the "ERPA" and that the office of the radiological protection would be recognised on a statutory basis. We do not consider those proposals a huge ask and they would give recognition to all the stakeholders at home and internationally that we still have a view of the importance of radiological protection. Currently, the RPII deals with the issue of ionising radiation, radiation from radon and medical devices.

According to the Minister, the new body will be tasked with non-ionising radiation sources which will include radio masts and pylons. This will be an area where credibility will be paramount. The public will want to believe that what is being said is scientifically correct and by a body with credibility. The RPII, Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, has credibility in this field. To diminish that credibility in any shape or form does not make sense.

We have concerns about the proposals concerning the name, particularly after the RPII’s UK counterpart was subsumed into a larger body and different aspects of its work were divvied out. There is a much better argument to merge the RPII with the HSE, Health Service Executive, rather than the Environmental Protection Agency. The HSE is about protecting people from illness and damage. That is what the RPII is doing. It has a medical element to it.