The Government has long been concerned about radioactive discharges to the Irish Sea, including discharges of tc-99, and has consistently called for the immediate cessation of such discharges. In December 2001, my predecessor, Deputy Jacob, expressed his concerns about the proposal by the UK Environment Agency to retain the existing tc-99 discharge authorisation limit of 90 tbq per annum and not to reduce this limit to ten tbq per annum until around 2006. We consider that proposal to be totally at variance with the commitments given by UK Ministers at OSPAR in 1998 when the OSPAR Strategy on Radioactive Substances was adopted. I welcome the request by the UK Government to BNFL to introduce a moratorium on tc-99 discharges pending the introduction of TPP abatement technology in respect of treating the existing stored MAC – medium active concentrate. While welcoming this proposal, the Government would be concerned as to what will happen with the stored MAC if further research into TPP shows that the concerns of both the Environment Agency and the HSE cannot be satisfactorily addressed and that, as a result, the process does not become licensed for use on a commercial scale. In the meantime, Ireland will continue to press for the ending to all other discharges from Sellafield as they continue to constitute unacceptable pollution of the Irish Sea.