Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have been a few times. Twice I was let in and once not. The time I was not allowed in got great publicity because I had been invited but the people with me were deemed to be in breach of security. In fact it was a Channel 4 news team which filmed it from the outside. I think that rebounded on Sellafield. That was in my role as a humble Senator. As a Minister of State I deal with it through the Department.
On a serious note, the Senator can be absolutely reassured. There is less evidence of discharge as time goes on because of environmental awareness, campaigning and actions by the British Government or the Sellafield management company, which is no longer called British Nuclear Fuels Limited, BNFL. It is a serious issue and is under constant review. That section of the EPA will have the same interest, knowledge, capacity to respond, powers and recognition as the RPII has now. I have no concerns that there will be any diminution of this following the merger.
I agree with Senator Walsh about the EPA. I did not hear the debate last night. I am, however, personally aware of the importance of EPA pronouncements on environmental issues. I know the independence of its views, the extent of its scientific opinion, its expertise and capacity to listen to communities. It has always been available to deal with issues in my constituency. Anybody can write to it. Everybody will get a response. It has always met me, visited and been available. It spoke definitively, ex cathedra, with absolute knowledge and certainty about the processes and environmental issues I raised.
I was in another country recently whose environmental protection agency was much weaker because it was under government control. It was not a political organisation but it was not entirely independent of the political system as our EPA and RPII are. The Senator raises an important point about health issues and the campaigning on those. I congratulate Dr. McGarry and her staff on the work they have done to make the public aware of the dangers of radon gas. One can visit the EPA website and see the significant issues in one’s townland. These are colour-coded. The deeper the yellow the greater the danger. It published a report last week to show where the dangers are and what to do. Dr. McGarry will lead the section within the EPA that deals with radiological protection. I have no doubt that the campaigns and the resources put into them will not be in any way diminished. I will ask her to write to reassure the Seanad on that point and to outline what it has done and is going to do.
The EPA wrote to every household in County Louth last year to outline dangers and gave out a very informative, professionally produced document which did not alarm people but alerted them. It encouraged people to get testing done. I have no doubt that will continue. I appreciate that the Senator is not objecting in principle to the merger but that he has to push his amendment. It is right and proper to debate these issues. I have dealt with the RPII for many years, starting with Dr. Tom O’Flaherty, a former chief executive, when I called meetings in my constituency as a councillor - that was a long time ago - about Sellafield. It was always available to give fair and objective advice. The merger will not change that role. The EPA has committed to that. I am confident the EPA is professional and independent. It can bring in extra scientists to deal with a particular environmental or scientific controversy, if necessary.
In response to Senator Landy, the cost of rebranding the merged entity is prohibitive. There is no need for it, notwithstanding the correspondence the Senator has to the contrary. There is no diminution of roles. That is the key point, whatever about the name. The powers remain the same. There will be new synergies and savings, notwithstanding the initial cost of the change. It will be in the order of €200,000 per annum. It is not a large sum but it is important. If there was a problem I would say so. Senator Brennan and I are from the same county and know how important this is for us. There is no way we would stand over any change.
The naming and branding were very carefully considered and several options were thoroughly examined prior to the final decision. The merger working group established to implement the decision to merge the two bodies was made up of senior officials from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, the RPII and the EPA. It considered the name of the merged organisation in great detail and wrote a report for the Department.

Several potential alternative names were considered and referred to the Minister. After further deliberations and taking all relevant factors into account, the Minister decided to keep the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, name. This decision was communicated to the RPII, Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, board and the reasons explained along with correspondence. I hope the explanation of the process is transparent.