Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 144: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the reason the Government did not make a submission to the European Union investigation into the establishment of the British Nuclear Decommissioning Authority under state aid rules. [5214/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Following notification from the United Kingdom in December 2003 that it intended to provide state aid to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, NDA, the European Commission opened a formal investigation in December 2004 to investigate whether the establishment of the NDA complied with EC treaty rules requiring that state aids should not distort or threaten to distort competition. State aid is in principle forbidden by the EC treaty, but it can be authorised by the Commission provided it can be clearly proved that the negative impact of the aid on trading conditions is outweighed by its positive contribution to the fulfilment of other Community objectives.

To establish whether Ireland should intervene in this case, my Department sought advice from the office of the Attorney General, which considered the issue in the context of the overall legal strategy by the Government on Sellafield. Based on the legal advice received, no intervention in the investigation by the EU Commission was made by Ireland. The investigation by the Commission regarding state aids and the NDA is based on competition law and does not address the primary concerns of Ireland about Sellafield, which relate to environmental impacts and safety and security issues.

The establishment of the NDA in the UK reflects the insufficiency of the financial provisions so far made in the UK for nuclear clean up and decommissioning costs. It is imperative that the UK Government should ensure that adequate funds are available for decommissioning and clean up of legacy waste and that these are carried out quickly, safely and without adverse environmental impacts. This is an issue I have repeatedly raised with the UK Authorities, particularly regarding Sellafield.

While the Irish Government, based on legal advice, did not intervene in this case, it has taken international legal actions against the UK Government over Sellafield. The European Commission instigated legal proceedings in the European Court of Justice against Ireland with regard to the international legal action taken by Ireland against the UK under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. These proceedings are ongoing. The Advocate General issued his opinion in the case last month and the court's decision is expected later this year. The case against the UK under UNCLOS remains suspended pending the outcome of these proceedings in the European Court of Justice.