Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 102: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will publish his correspondence with Mr. Finn Uglevelt in relation to the level three incident at Sellafield in 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30426/05]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 141: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will publish his correspondence with UK Minister, Mr. Alan Johnson MP, in relation to the level three incident at Sellafield earlier in 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30425/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 102 and 141 together.

I have had no direct correspondence with Mr. Finn Uglevelt in relation to the level three incident at Sellafield. However, officials of my Department were in correspondence on this issue with Mr. Uglevelt, who is attached to the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority. The incident at Sellafield was the subject of correspondence between myself and Alan Johnson MP, UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, which culminated in my recent meeting with him on the 19 October last.

That meeting focused on the THORP incident and on issues regarding the continued operation of the Sellafield plant. While our meeting was cordial, there was an extremely frank exchange of views. I made very clear to the Secretary of State, the Government's serious concern about the fact that the THORP incident of last April had occurred at all. I strongly underlined our concern about the findings of BNFL's own report in regard to the culture of complacency at Sellafield. The THORP leak represented another chapter in the ongoing Sellafield cycle of failure. This pattern is untenable and the Secretary of State was left in no doubt about our view that it is time for the UK to face up to and make the hard decisions necessary to end reprocessing. The Secretary of State confirmed to me that the UK Government is undertaking a review of the THORP plant with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which assumed responsibility for the Sellafield site and operations in April 2005. While I welcomed this development, I conveyed in the strongest possible terms the view of the Irish Government that reprocessing should be brought to an end.

I also made it known to the Secretary of State that I had again raised the issue of the THORP leak with the European Commissioner for Energy, Mr. Andris Piebalgs. EU safeguards and controls at Sellafield are conducted under the terms of the EURATOM Treaty. In my most recent letter I have pressed the Commissioner to reflect on the implications of the THORP leak for the conduct and effectiveness of the safeguards regime and to respond appropriately. I look forward to hearing from the Commissioner on this important matter at an early date.

Normal practice is to maintain the confidentiality of correspondence which is generated in the context of the international relations of the State. I do not propose to depart from that practice in these cases.