Government on Sellafield

national | miscellaneous | news report

Wednesday May 21, 2003 12:07

by Justin Moran - Sinn Fein

maigh_nuad at yahoo dot com

This is merely for your information as the Government's response to questions on Sellafield

To the Minister for the Environment and Local Government:

To ask the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the dates on which the Government raised the issue of Sellafield with the British authorities since the formation of this Government, in view of the widespread concern regarding the Sellafield Nuclear Power Plant in this country and abroad; the response received; and the steps he proposes to take to further prioritise the closure of the Sellafield plant.
- Seán Crowe.

For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 20th May, 2003.

Ref No: 13825/03

Minister for the Environment and Local Government (Mr. Cullen):

I refer to the reply to Question No. 122 of 14 April 2003.

The Government has taken, and will continue to take, a pro-active role in campaigning against reprocessing operations at Sellafield. The Agreed Programme for Government has stated that we regard the continued existence of Sellafield as an unacceptable threat to Ireland; that it should be closed, and that we will use every diplomatic and legal route available to us to work towards the removal of this threat.

The Government has taken an important initiative in pursuit of this policy objective through its separate legal actions, under the OSPAR Convention and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in relation to the Sellafield MOX plant. These actions are proceeding on schedule and are challenging operations at the Sellafield MOX plant on economic, legal, environmental and safety grounds.

In relation to proceedings under the OSPAR Convention, Ireland is seeking access to certain information necessary to carry out an independent evaluation of the economic case for the plant in order to ensure that the plant was justified as required under EU Law. The UK response has been to refuse access to the information concerned on grounds of commercial sensitivity. Oral hearings in relation to these proceedings took place in the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague in October 2002, and a judgement or award is expected shortly.

The UNCLOS action is based on claims by Ireland that the UK is in breach of its obligations under UNCLOS relating to the threat to the marine environment from the continued operation and expansion of Sellafield, the threat to the Irish Sea from shipments of nuclear materials and the inadequacy of the 1993 Environmental Impact Statement for the MOX Plant. The UK has rejected these claims. Oral hearings relating to these proceedings will begin on 10th June 2003 and are expected to last three weeks.

On 16 January 2003, I represented Ireland at the third Ministerial meeting of the British Irish Council (Environment Group). This meeting was chaired by Michael Meacher, MP, UK Minister for the Environment, and included environment ministers from the devolved administrations. The Group has, as part of its agenda, the issue of radioactive waste from Sellafield, and a paper tabled jointly by Ireland and the Isle of Man will be considered on conclusion of Ireland’s legal actions. Other issues for discussion at the next meeting of this Group include highly active waste and long-term storage of plutonium at Sellafield.

On 7 November 2002, I debated the motion ‘That this house would shut down Sellafield’ at UCD’s Law Society. Present at this debate was the UK Minister for Energy, Brian Wilson, MP. I will be meeting Mr Wilson again when he visits Dublin later this month and will again take this opportunity to raise my concerns about Sellafield.

I wrote to Michael Meacher, MP, Minister for the Environment, on the 7th January 2003 outlining my concerns regarding the proposed decision by the UK Environment Agency on future discharges of technetium–99 (Tc-99) from Sellafield. I also wrote to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Patricia Hewitt, MP, on 28 March 2003 in relation to my concerns about the adequacy of security at Sellafield and received a response on 16 April 2003. I published this response in reply to Question No. 141 of 14 May 2003.

My officials and the scientific staff of the RPII also continue to have regular contact with their UK counterparts through both correspondence and meetings.

All contacts between both myself and UK Ministers, and at official level, are welcome, cordial and productive. However, while I believe there has been an increasing recognition among the UK authorities of the serious concerns of the Irish population, there remains a significant divergence in our respective views in relation to Sellafield. The legal and other options open to the Government in relation to Sellafield remain under continuous review.

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Comments (8 of 8)

by iosaf mac diarmada

Wed May 21, 2003 16:08

as I pointed out to the Manx years ago

Wed May 21, 2003 16:11

and the Irish government, but they being ineffectual gobshites and little rascals are unworthy of correspondence,
anyway, the Manx agreed on all sides of their party organisations and in Tynwald both representatives and beurocrats that this was the way to go.
If the French can plan to phase out ·all· nuclear power things in 30 years then HMG and BNFL can do likewise. At the moment HMG BNFL speak of 60 years to close everything.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
and nor is wanker fucker Irish TD bullshit, as if this is something "new".
thank God for the Manx.
I love 'em.
and they replied.
they love me.

iosaf

by pat c

Wed May 21, 2003 17:10

manx cats have no tails. what evolutionary advantage would they gain from this? were the manx a nation of cat swingers? those with shorter tails more likely to pass their genes on?

However the Manx used the

by Raymond McInerney

Wed May 21, 2003 19:53

cat o'nine tails

& indeed they don't.

by iosaf

Wed May 21, 2003 19:58

this is a result of in-breeding.
It is a most curious deformity and interests cat fanciers and geneticists and creationist and evolucionists. They come to the Isle of Mann every year to the famous cat races, where tail-less cats are pitched at breakneck speed along the winding little roads.
The Manx state is based around Tynwald its parliament which is amongst those that claim the oldest history in Europe. It dates from the Norse Kingdom which to this day lent the symbolic three legs of the now extinct manx dog, canus manxum which quite famously had three legs instead on four. Unfortuanately Irish pirates were responsible for driving the three legged dog of Mann into extinction in the fifteenth century. though authorities on the continent disagree and believe that the English who were a significant peril to the rennaisance Manx killed the dogs by over-racing them.

It is recorded in the minutes of Shuandis O'grady's sunday lecture 17November 1875 to the Royal Irish Academy that he claimed the both felix manxum and canum manxum were discussed by Grainne ni Mhaoil and Elizabeth the First of England at their pirate parley of 1594. Though this is quite probably bullshit, you'd have to google to know for sure.

The Manx also pioneered the macro-hydro wheel, but due to Ënglish indifference the giant watermill didn't really make it. There are however very good green reasons for looking at these things again.

& indeed they do

by iosaf to Raymond.

Wed May 21, 2003 20:02

The Manx are a tax haven, most young Manx must leave the island to find work. Mostly they do so in England, but Manx are to be found throughout the English speaking world and Europe as well.
The Manx still hold many draconian laws on their statutes and one of these is the birch or cat o nine tails as it is sometimes known though the cat o nine was used by the Royal Navy. the manx form of corporal punishment is known as the birch.

The Manx used to fish, but they dont any longer.

So near but yet so far away

by Ray McInerney

Wed May 21, 2003 20:19

Never been to the Isle of Man but will go there within the next few years.

Sellafield on their door step. Shut down Sellafield.

Will give Malta a miss. Especially due to the way they treat their animals.

are the Maltese bad to their animals?

Thu May 22, 2003 11:41

tell us. I knew someone who was interned in Malta during WW2. & well a few connections but nothing major.

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Comments (8 of 8)