Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister's response. Hopefully, it will go some way towards reassuring naval personnel at Haulbowline that their health is not at risk. The Minister said clearly it is not at risk, despite the fact they are sitting on half a million tonnes of hazardous waste. We can only accept the Minister's assurance and I am sure it will assuage any concerns they have. The Minister gave a commitment that he will brief the personnel as soon as possible. Will he ensure he does that? Also, will he publish the report as soon as possible?

I remind the Minister that traces of chromium 6 found on the site were analysed in a German laboratory by one of the contractors hired to remove some waste from the site. The results gave rise to some concern. Does the consultants' report rule out any possible contamination or threat from chromium 6 or from the inordinate levels of mercury found in the Cork Harbour area — 25% higher than the acceptable level? Does the report provide an assurance that there is no threat from chromium 6, mercury, zinc or any of the other obvious contaminants on the site, given the half of million tonnes of waste underground there?

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