Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies who contributed to the debate for their valued and constructive input. As they will be aware, the purpose of this Bill is to provide for the merger of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland and the Environmental Protection Agency this summer. The necessary legal provisions for this, which are set out in the Radiological Protection (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014, need to be in place before the Oireachtas rises for the summer recess. Having listened to all the concerns that have been raised, I want to assure the House that the merger will not in any way result in a diminution, or even a perception of a diminution, of our commitment to radiological protection. I believe the merging of the two organisations will enhance our capacity to continue to deliver regulatory and advisory functions to the highest standard, while fostering greater synergies and links between radiological and environmental policies and actions into the future. We are not in any way diminishing the protection or priorities afforded to radiological issues. The establishment of the office of radiological protection will maintain the positive profile and high reputation of the institute.

The future of the Sellafield nuclear site was raised during the debate. Ireland has ongoing engagements with the United Kingdom on radiological and nuclear matters. Officials from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and technical experts from the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland meet their counterparts from the UK Department of Environment and Climate Change regularly. At these meetings, we ensure the UK authorities are kept aware of any concerns held by Ireland and emphasise that all possible steps are taken to ensure the highest levels of safety apply at Sellafield and all other relevant nuclear sites. In November 2012, the Department published a summary of a probabilistic risk assessment report that was prepared by an independent team of international experts who assessed the probable risks to Ireland of any potential incidents at Sellafield. The experts quantified the likelihood of an incident at Sellafield resulting in the release of radioactive material. They found that such an incident would give rise to "no observable health effects". The merger of the two bodies will in no way lessen or reduce the current high level of scrutiny that applies to the Sellafield issue. A further visit to the Sellafield site by representatives of the Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland is being arranged for later this year.

The Government's primary approach to dealing with radon is to concentrate efforts on increasing public awareness of the risks posed. The national radon control strategy sets out 48 recommendations, under six thematic areas, with the ultimate aim of reducing the number of radon related lung cancer cases. Successful implementation of the strategy will require action from a range of Departments, public bodies and stakeholders. A co-ordinating group, chaired by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and including representatives of other key Departments and agencies, has been established to implement and track key recommendations from the strategy. It will monitor the implementation of the strategy and report annually on progress. In 2018, at the end of the four-year period covered by the national radon control strategy action plan, the group will make recommendations on further actions that should be taken at that time. I assure Deputies that the comprehensive action plan being implemented will not be adversely impacted by this merger in any way.

The ultimate aim of the Government's agency rationalisation programme is to reduce the number of State bodies and integrate their roles and responsibilities with other existing bodies, with consequent efficiency savings. While the savings from some rationalisations might not be significant, there is a policy of following through on mergers and rationalisations unless there are strong evidence-based reasons for not doing so. In the case of this merger, it is clear that greater synergies and links between the environmental and radiological functions will enhance capacity. The savings that have been identified and estimated will begin at a low level in 2014 and will increase in 2015 and 2016 as these synergies become embedded. The savings arise mainly under the themes of human resources, governance and the administrative cost savings that are forecast across the corporate services area. Smaller savings will arise under the areas of information and communications technology and accommodation.

Cost savings of up to €260,000 per annum are anticipated from 2016. This figure already incorporates recognition of staff efficiencies of approximately €100,000 per annum. Further workforce planning, including a review of structures, roles and responsibilities, will be completed later this year. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government provided €70,000 in capital funding to the Environmental Protection Agency in 2013 in respect of the merger. Additional allocations of €696,000 for current funding and €223,000 for capital funding have been made for 2014 in respect of merger costs. This expenditure is required to facilitate the updating of human resource, information and communications technology systems, financial systems and accommodation facilities and to ensure a smooth operational transition.

It was determined at the commencement of the merger process that the most efficient and cost-effective way to enable the merger was to establish a fifth office within the structure of the Environmental Protection Agency, namely, the Office of Radiological Protection. None of the existing divisions and offices within the agency is established specifically in legislation. The Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 provides that "the Agency shall consist of a Director General and four other directors". That number will increase to five after the merger. As the 1992 Act provides that the function of the director general is "to arrange the distribution of the business of the Agency among its directors", it would not be appropriate or desirable for legislation to prescribe the divisional organisation of the agency, or to confer one of the offices with a more pre-eminent or differentiated status. A review of the Environmental Protection Agency, which was published in 2011, concluded that "the flexibility and change management shown by the EPA is a major strength" and "should not be limited by overly prescriptive statutory provisions".

A number of Deputies raised concerns about the possible loss of radiological expertise. I assure the House that this will not arise. This matter is specifically addressed in the Bill, section 21 of which provides for a person with "relevant experience in relation to radiological protection" to be included on the statutory selection committee for directors of the Environmental Protection Agency. The Bill also provides that the Minister may appoint people with radiological expertise to the agency's general statutory advisory committee, which was established under section 27 of the 1992 Act. This committee will also be given the statutory ability to give advice on radiological protection matters. A separate specialist advisory committee, which will be dedicated solely to radiological protection, will be set up by the end of the year.

The second purpose of the Bill is to put in place urgently the provisions required for Ireland to ratify the 2005 amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. This amending treaty will be a cornerstone of international nuclear security measures. Ireland has long maintained a policy position of encouraging the highest international standards in this area. It is important to support our words with actions through the ratification of this treaty.

I thank Deputies again for their positive and constructive input. I look forward to the Committee Stage debate, which is to take place next week.