Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I welcome the suggestion made yesterday on the Order of Business and thank the Leader for including in today's Order Paper statements on disability to mark the Special Olympics World Summer Games. It is a positive development.

My group has placed motion No. 33 on the Order Paper. I raised the issue yesterday and would like to return to it today. It arises from the UN Court of Arbitration ruling against the British Government on the Sellafield site. The net point is that the UN court has rightly determined that the Irish Government has a right to information on safety at Sellafield, or, at the very least, should be consulted by the British Government and British Nuclear Fuels. Will the Leader agree to take this motion on which I do not think there is disagreement on an all-party basis at some stage next week? We now have an opportunity to put it up to the British Government to allow our inspectorate, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, on site at Sellafield to ensure independent monitoring of the facility and that independent and objective information is given to the Irish Government and the people through our inspectorate. Now is the time to do this.

The British-Irish Council is not suspended, unlike the Northern Ireland Assembly and the North-South Ministerial Council. I understand there will be a meeting next December and that in September there will be a meeting of Environment Ministers from all of the islands. This is a key issue when it comes to east-west relationships between these islands. At the very least, our inspectorate should be on site at the Sellafield facility. I ask that the motion be taken on an all-party basis some time next week. I believe the Government would welcome this and know the people would welcome independent monitoring of the facility at Sellafield.