Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)

The UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Mr. Ed Miliband, recently announced that ten new nuclear power facilities are to be developed in that country. Some of the proposed sites are on the west coast of England, which would pose dangers for the east coast of Ireland. Two of the ten new nuclear plants are in Cumbria, which is very close to this country. I have a difficulty with the UK Government's vague explanation of how it will deal with nuclear waste from these facilities. No provision for nuclear waste seems to have been outlined in Mr. Miliband's announcement. I am aware that new technology is evolving in the nuclear sphere. I agree with Mr. Tom McGurk, who said in a newspaper article last Sunday that we already have nuclear power in Ireland, in effect, because we are so close to some of the nuclear power stations in Britain. We have the same level of risk we would have if we had nuclear power in this country. We need to open a debate on nuclear power. I ask the Leader for a debate in this House on the siting of nuclear power plants in parts of the west coast of England that are close to Ireland. We should discuss the vagueness of the relevant authorities in providing for nuclear waste to be dealt with. The level of nuclear waste that is currently going into the Irish Sea will increase tenfold. We need to debate this serious situation, which has passed under the radar in this country. The Government has not been sufficiently strong in its dealings with the British Government in this regard. I would not oppose a debate on the possibility that we may be ready to embrace nuclear power very soon, as science evolves. As things stand, however, the serious matter of nuclear waste needs to be discussed. All views need to be brought to the table. If this House is to be relevant, it should deal with this issue soon.