Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 118: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if assurance will be sought from the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, that the British Government energy review announced on 29 November 2005 will not contemplate the location of a nuclear power station on the island of Ireland. [5213/06]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 135: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on the United Kingdom's new energy policy that will give explicit consideration to the building of new nuclear power plants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5258/06]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 184: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has had discussions with members of the UK Government following the announcement of the British Government's energy review on 29 November 2005, which will examine the provision of up to ten more nuclear power stations in the UK. [5212/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 118, 135 and 184 together.

Following Prime Minister Blair's recent announcement regarding a review of the United Kingdom's progress under the medium and long-term energy White Paper 2003 goals last November, a consultation document, entitled Our Energy Challenge: Securing Clean, Affordable Energy for the Long Term, was launched on 23 January by the UK Secretary of State and the Minister for Energy. This consultation document has a broad scope and considers all aspects of the energy system, including both energy supply and demand. It sets out the energy challenges currently faced by the UK and invites responses to the evidence presented and to what should be done to secure clean, affordable energy for the long term.

While the 2003 White Paper concluded that replacement nuclear build was an unattractive alternative, the current consultation document states that the forthcoming review will examine whether recent changes in energy prices have changed that assessment. It will also examine other issues relating to nuclear power, including the important issue of waste. My Department, in conjunction with the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, will fully engage in this consultation process on all relevant issues, including the potential siting of new nuclear reactors should the decision be made by the UK to proceed with building additional nuclear capacity. In a recent meeting in London with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Minister for Foreign Affairs stressed that the Irish Government would be strongly opposed to the building of any new nuclear plants on the island of Ireland.

Ireland remains firmly opposed to the nuclear industry on the grounds of the many risks it poses to human health, the environment and the economy, as well as risks associated with waste and transport. Environmental consequences have arisen for Ireland from historical and ongoing discharges to the sea from Sellafield and the potential risk for a serious accident or incident at nuclear plants, including Sellafield. Any proposals by the UK to develop new nuclear capacity must be addressed in this context. During a meeting in London in October last, with the UK Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry, Mr. Alan Johnson MP, I restated Ireland's position on nuclear safety and did so again when I subsequently met the chairman and the chief executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in Dublin. The issue of new nuclear build in the UK was also addressed.

I reject the argument that nuclear, as a carbon free and plentiful source of energy, can provide a solution to problems of climate change and energy supply. The reality is that the nuclear industry carries with it serious environmental and safety risks and the costs in both economic and environmental terms are unsustainable. The Government will continue to represent this view to the UK at every available opportunity, including at relevant public consultation processes.