Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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Question 68: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the position regarding the international legal action taken by the Government with a view to securing the closure of the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36557/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Government initiated international legal proceedings against the UK under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS, with regard to the Sellafield MOX plant. The current position regarding the litigation by Ireland under UNCLOS is that the arbitration remains suspended pending resolution of jurisdictional issues in the dispute, which were raised by the European Commission. These issues are now the subject of legal proceedings between Ireland and the Commission before the European Court of Justice and a court hearing of the case took place on 8 November last. In line with normal procedure in such matters, the Advocate General indicated that his opinion on the matter will be made available on 18 January 2006 and the judgment of the court will issue subsequently.

The tribunal in the UNCLOS case issued an order on 24 June 2003 after hearing an application by Ireland for provisional measures. The provisional measures award and orders recommended that Ireland and the UK enter into dialogue to improve co-operation and consultation between the two Governments and report to the tribunal on specified dates. The most recent report to the tribunal was submitted on schedule by both parties on 31 May 2005 and the next report is due to be submitted to the tribunal tomorrow. In line with the obligation on both parties to improve co-operation and co-ordination arrangements, complex discussions, confidential to the tribunal and the parties pending outcomes, are at present continuing.

It was my stated intention to report on progress arising from this process at the appropriate instance and the signing of an agreement on notification and exchange of information arrangements between Ireland and the UK on 10 December 2004 afforded the two parties an opportunity to do so. The agreed package of measures announced is designed to address a wide range of issues related to nuclear safety and includes, inter alia, the facilitating of visits to Sellafield by the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland and the Garda Síochána; provision of access for the institute to the UK's radiation monitoring system, RIMNET; and a series of initiatives to develop and improve existing co-operation arrangements between both governments.

The current position regarding these measures is that both the institute and the Garda Síochána have visited Sellafield during the past 12 months and further visits are planned by both bodies. Earlier this year the institute published a report of its visit to Sellafield in September 2004. With regard to RIMNET, the institute now has full access to the real-time information provided by the system.

In accordance with the commitment in the Government's programme for Government to use every legal and diplomatic opportunity to secure the orderly closure of Sellafield, both I and my Department utilise all bilateral and multilateral opportunities to articulate Ireland's concerns regarding Sellafield. Considerable opportunities arise at international fora such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, the European Union and the OSPAR Commission to advance our views on issues such as marine transport of nuclear waste, nuclear safety, and radioactive discharges to the marine environment. All these issues have direct relevance to Ireland's concerns regarding Sellafield and I intend to continue Ireland's proactive engagement at these and other fora with a view to maximising support for our policies among like-minded states.