Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I am pleased to be in the Seanad to report on the amendments made to the Containment of Nuclear Weapons Bill 2000 during its passage through the Dáil. I have said that some time has passed since the Bill was passed by the Seanad. Senators will recall that it was passed by the House in May 2000 and it passed Second Stage in the Dáil in February 2001. An issue arose at that point, however, concerning the administration and implementation of the requirements of the Bill as they relate to the national authority vis-à-vis the role of the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. These issues necessitated consultation with, inter alia, the European Union, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners. The fact that the State initiated legal action against the UK in respect of Sellafield around that time, when taken with the heightened pressure on emergency planning and management arising from the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, meant that resources in the Department were stretched beyond capacity at that time. This, in turn, resulted in a delay in progressing the Bill to Committee Stage.