Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The Government has consistently held the UK Government accountable and responsible for the continued operation of the Sellafield complex. It has submitted some very detailed papers, admittedly in the context of the cases taken under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The UK Government is well aware of the Irish position. I have had endless discussions with the British Prime Minister over the years on Sellafield and related issues, following from what happened under successive Governments over many years. The announcement by Mr. Alan Johnson MP, the UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, of the proposed sale of the British Nuclear Group to the private sector does not change our position. It has been stated that the decision to privatise the group was taken to facilitate competition in the UK nuclear clean-up industry. The Government has emphasised to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the UK Government that competition should not compromise safety and environmental standards. We have dealt with that position.

I appreciate what Deputy Sargent said about consultation. The two Governments are trying as hard as we can to get the parties to buy into the proposals in a positive manner so that we can move forward together in the run-up to 6 May. It would be unhelpful to the process to lose either side or any of the parties. The toing and froing will continue almost to the end. If it had been finished and a clearer position had been known, we would have been able to brief the Opposition parties at an earlier stage.

See this speech in context