Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 5, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following:"2. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shall, from the date of enactment of this Act, be known as the Environmental & Radiological Protection Agency (ERPA).".

We covered some of this ground yesterday on Second Stage. This is a very simple amendment. We seek the incorporation of the very important function of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland into the name of the Bill. I hope the Minister of State can easily and readily accept this simple amendment. Under the Bill the merged body will have two approaches. One will be the protection of the environment from human degradation, which is the function to which the EPA is generally recognised as being charged with undertaking. The other will be to protect people from the harmful effects of radiation, which involves a number of functions. Yesterday we concentrated on the radon gas issue which, as Senator Landy rightly pointed out, is an issue in his area. It is also an issue in Wexford and other parts of the south and west of the country where there are high levels of radiation, sometimes up to ten times the recommended level. I carried out a test on our house to find it was marginally above the limits. We live in an area where we are at risk of very high levels of radon gas.
Over the years the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland has done much work to create awareness about the issue. This has inspired many people, including me, to use detectors to gauge the level of exposure experienced. It is very much a silent killer in that lung cancer is often well past the stage when it can be arrested before one realises one has it.
Last week we applauded the Minister for Health on his efforts to curtail smoking, in particular with regard to plain packaging, and the awareness being created about the risks of smoking. Unfortunately this does not prevent people from smoking but it has some mitigating effects. The separate function regarding radiological protection should be fully recognised in the name of the new body in order that the awareness which already exists will continue. If the merged body will be known as the Environmental Protection Agency it will not convey into the minds of people the issues for which the body will have overarching responsibility. It would be a prudent and simple step to include "radiological" in the title of the body in order that it will be known as the environmental and radiological protection agency. I hope the Minister of State can accept the amendment. Yesterday all sides of the House expressed support for this suggestion.