Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern.

I welcome the fact that this debate is taking place this evening and I am grateful for the opportunity to respond in detail to last week's developments and reiterate current and ongoing Government policy in this area.

The Government is committed to the safe closure of Sellafield and will continue to use every legal, diplomatic and political means at its disposal to progress that objective. It is pressing the European Commission to step up its game in terms of holding the operators of Sellafield to account. Regardless of the privatisation of any element of the British nuclear apparatus, this Government will continue to hold the UK Government responsible for the operations of Sellafield and the health and safety of the Irish people and environment.

Last Thursday, the UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, NDA, published a new strategy document outlining how the United Kingdom proposes to tackle the clean-up of its historic nuclear facilities including those at Sellafield. The decision by the UK Government to approve the sale of the separate but linked British Nuclear Group was made in the context of this strategy.

That decision raises concerns about accountability, transparency and the risk of compromising safety in the pursuit of profit in a privatised entity. The UK authorities have confirmed to my office that the privatisation of the British Nuclear Group does not alter the fact that the site and the operations undertaken there remain the responsibility and in the ownership of the UK Government through the NDA.

The Irish Government will continue to hold the UK Government accountable and responsible for the continuing safe operation of the Sellafield complex. While the UK Government may have a sovereign right to manage its affairs to best serve its interests, we also have sovereign rights and responsibilities to ensure that the health, environment and safety of our citizens are not adversely impacted by any decisions taken by the UK.

The NDA is a non-departmental public body established by the UK Government in April of last year. The UK Government mandated the authority to ensure that 20 civil public sector nuclear sites in the UK, including Sellafield, were decommissioned and cleaned up safely, securely, cost-effectively and in ways that protect the environment.

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