Taoiseach may raise Sellafield

Britain's decision to privatise the Sellafield nuclear processing plant is likely to be raised when Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British prime minister Tony Blair meet next week.

Minister for Finance Brian Cowen said that "given the good relations between the two leaders, it may be taken that this is a matter which can be raised at that time", he told Emmet Stagg (Lab, Kildare North) who called for the issue to be raised at the meeting because the privatisation "would remove from the Irish Government some of the levers it has on dealing with the British government on this issue".

Mr Cowen said the Minister for the Environment had been in contact with his British counterpart to raise Ireland's concern about Britain's plan.

"We hope that the difficulties being experience with Thorp will not be used as an excuse or given as a reason activities should continue at Sellafield longer than absolutely necessary," he said.

"This is a long-standing matter, which has been pursued by successive government using every possible political and legal channel available to us, to determine how that plant might be taken out of use as quickly as possible.

"Recent pronouncements on its future ownership simply heighten that concern and add to it," he said.

Fine Gael deputy leader Richard Bruton, who raised the issue, called for a change in the Freedom of Information Act to include the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland because deputies had been refused information on Sellafield on grounds of "national security".

He added: "There have been major incidents there on which the reporting has been suspect. Deputies are entitled to know the information that is available to Government so that we may have an informed debate." Mr Bruton said that "we have issues of intimate concern to the security of our people, about which deputies are very concerned, being denied under alleged freedom of information exemptions".

Calling for the Minister to make changes so there could be a "realistic and well-informed debate", he said "there have been major incidents there on which the reporting has been suspect".

Earlier a call by Fine Gael's environment spokesman Fergus O'Dowd for a special debate on the proposed Sellafield privatisation, was ruled out of order. Mr O'Dowd said: "This plant is vulnerable to a nuclear accident or terrorist attack which could have serious consequences for generations in Ireland and should, therefore, remain under direct British control and ownership."