Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)

I wish to share time with Deputies Finian McGrath, Gregory and Morgan.

During the past half an hour, we heard much bluster from the Government side of the House. It is more like a stuck record than anything else. I think I saw some dust being blown off the speeches made by both Ministers. We have heard it all before. I sense a real air of complacency coming from the Government side. We have heard the assurances and the diplomatic niceties. While this is all very well, I do not believe the Government is doing enough to close the nuclear industry across the water. The Minister is also failing to promote renewable energy sources in Ireland. While he is saying, "No new nukes", Forfás is saying we should make an offer for a second-hand nuclear power station in Wales. The Minister is also saying he is doing what he can but, to the best of my knowledge, he has not travelled to Sellafield, looked these people in the eye and told them to close it. When my colleague, Deputy O'Dowd, and I travelled to Sellafield, the Minister criticised us for doing so. It is about time the Minister got real and said directly to the nuclear industry in the UK that it is time to close that deadly and dangerous industry.

The Minister's worst offence is that, year after year, he and his colleagues sign up and pay a small fortune to the nuclear industry through our contributions to the EURATOM Treaty. It is time for these contributions to end. The EURATOM Treaty is about promoting the nuclear industry and guaranteeing a steady supply of nuclear fuel to the industry. To the best of my knowledge, the Minister has not raised our concerns about that treaty. Did he use Ireland's Presidency of the European Union to make changes to the treaties?

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