Gay Mitchell (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 35: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has satisfied himself that the operators of the nuclear plant at Sellafield have changed their accounting and reporting procedures to ensure that nuclear materials are not diverted from the peaceful uses following the European Commission's formal warning to the British Nuclear Group Sellafield; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16610/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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On 15 February 2006, the EU Commission issued a warning to the operators of Sellafield, British Nuclear Group Sellafield Limited, (BNG SL) under Article 83(1) (a) of the Euratom Treaty. The decision to issue the warning was the result of a series of inspections carried out by Commission inspectors at the Sellafield plant. The Commission also requested the Group to implement the appropriate remedies within the periods specified in the warning and to ensure that it had quality systems in place for accounting for nuclear material.

My Department is not aware to date of what, if any, actions may have been taken by the operators of Sellafield in response to the warning issued by the Commission. The issues raised are a matter of EU Commission competence under the Euratom Treaty. In this regard, I met the EU Commissioner for Energy with responsibility for nuclear energy and protection (Andris Piebalgs), on the 31 January last, specifically to impress upon the Commission the strength of Irish Government concerns in relation to the continued operation of the Sellafield Nuclear Plant. I set out to Commissioner Piebalgs the Irish Government's expectation that the Commission will exercise its competence robustly in respect of the continued operations at Sellafield, a situation which we believe has not been the case heretofore.

I will continue to monitor the EU Commission's action in relation to its obligations under EU law regarding Sellafield and I can assure the House that the Commission is under no misapprehension regarding the priority and concern accorded to this issue by the Irish Government.

Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 36: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will actively oppose new nuclear plants which may be proposed for the west coast of Great Britain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16611/06]

Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 67: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has received an assurance from the Northern Secretary, Mr. Hain, that under the UK energy review there will be no siting of a new nuclear power plant on the island of Ireland. [16522/06]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 73: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has had an opportunity to discuss with his EU counterparts, the UK energy review and the possibility of additional nuclear power plants being considered as part of that review; and whilst the sourcing of and nature of energy supplies is a matter for each State within the EU, his views on whether pressure from his fellow EU Ministers might influence the direction of the British decision. [16521/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 36, 67 and 73 together.

Following the recent announcement regarding a review of the United Kingdom's progress under the medium and long-term Energy White Paper (2003) goals, a consultation document Our Energy Challenge: Securing clean, affordable energy for the long term, was launched on 23 January 2006 by the UK Minister of State for Energy. While the UK Energy White Paper in 2003 concluded that replacement nuclear build was an unattractive alternative, the current consultation document states that the forthcoming review will examine whether recent increases in energy prices have changed that assessment. It will also examine other issues in relation to nuclear including the important issue of waste.

My Department, in conjunction with the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, has engaged in this consultation process. Its submission, which covers a number of issues of concern to Ireland, reiterates the point made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs at a recent meeting in London with the Northern Secretary that the Irish Government would be strongly opposed to the building of any new nuclear plants on the island of Ireland. Indeed, the Northern Secretary has also publicly acknowledged there was no support north or south for the siting of a nuclear reactor on the island of Ireland. In relation to the siting of possible nuclear reactors on the west coast of the United Kingdom, the UK Government is keenly aware of Irish Government views in relation to the risks posed to Ireland by existing nuclear facilities on the west coast including Sellafield and Wylfa.

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 historic 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.

I have not discussed the UK Energy Review and associated issues with my fellow EU Ministers. However, Ireland co-operates in the EU on a regular basis with like minded countries on the nuclear issue. I did meet with EU Commissioners Andris Piebalgs (Energy) and Franco Frattini (Security) in Brussels in January. While these meetings primarily concentrated on issues relating to Sellafield, I did take the opportunity to convey Ireland's views on nuclear energy generally in a forthright manner.