Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On the points raised by Senator Grace O'Sullivan, the EPA under its remit with regard to radon publishes its aspect of it as part of its annual report under section 51 of the Act. That is laid before the Houses. The implementation of the NCRS is published by me. It is not a statutory document and is not laid before the Houses, but I will ensure that when the annual report comes to me and is published, a copy will be given to the Senators. It will then be a matter for the Whips, but I will be happy to come to the House to go through the implementation and to update the Senators on the progress we have been making on the pilot scheme and the progress towards a national scheme. I am happy to do that once it is available.

As regards the stakeholder analysis, I am open to any suggestions on stakeholder input in that regard. The Senator is correct. It is not the case with this specific issue, but I specifically asked that question about stakeholders on another issue within the last week. In many cases stakeholders do not include the public, yet the biggest stakeholder we have is the public. I made that very point with regard to stakeholder consultation.The Senator is right. The most important group is the public and it should be involved. This should not be a way of bypassing that engagement. If the Senators have any suggestions or ideas I am quite willing to take them on board and facilitate them where I can.

In response to Senators Leyden and Grace O'Sullivan's questions about the UK's nuclear building programme, the Government asked the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, RPII, now merged with the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, to prepare a report on the potential radiological implications for Ireland from the proposed nuclear power plants in the UK. The principal finding of the report published in May 2013 is that the routine operation of the proposed nuclear plants will have no measurable radiological impact on Ireland or the Irish marine environment. This report continues to inform Irish engagement on the UK's new nuclear build programme.

In response to the question on why the Irish Government was not consulted on the Espoo Convention at an early point, the scientific expert analysis by the RPII of the UK's nuclear build programme found that the routine operation of the proposed Hinkley Point C power plant would have no measurable radiological impact on Ireland or the marine environment. Representations were made to the Espoo implementation committee on the Hinkley Point C project which issued draft findings that the UK Government should have consulted with the neighbouring states. There was no agreement at the last Espoo meeting of the parties on the Espoo findings and the matter was withdrawn. A revised decision will be considered at an ad hocmeeting of the parties to take place at the end of 2018 or early 2019. The UK invited states to comment on the project by letter of 28 July 2017 without prejudice to the Espoo implementation committee discussions.

In respect of the last meeting of parties, Ireland was not represented. The lead Department in Ireland for the convention is the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government which liaises as appropriate with other Departments and agencies on particular issues. Ireland was not represented at the Espoo Convention meeting of the parties which took place in Minsk, Belarus.

In response to the question of whether there had been any meetings specifically for consultation on Hinkley Point C, a meeting took place in Dublin in April 2017 between UK officials and representatives of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. If the Senators want a more detailed briefing specifically on that subject we can arrange for them to meet with officials and go through it because the back and forth between both jurisdictions and what is happening on Espoo is quite complex. If Senators contact my office we can facilitate that and go through the detail. I hope that has answered the questions raised.