Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

There is a conspiracy of silence within the Minister's Department regarding the issue of the relationship between Britain and Ireland in respect of Sellafield and nuclear matters. Recently, I made a freedom of information request to his Department on Sellafield and his correspondence with the British Government in this respect. However, as a result of the Cabinet's decision to shut down the Freedom of Information Act, 90 of the 120 items which could have been released to me were refused. The Minister's policy of keeping the public ignorant is unacceptable, wrong and disgraceful.

What will the Minister do about this issue now? What steps will he take today to approach his British counterpart and to make an assault on Downing Street regarding the concerns and fears of the Irish people in respect of ten additional nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom? The plant which the Minister is supposed to have closed — Sellafield — will be obliged to reprocess the consequential waste.

See this speech in context