The British government has officially informed the State of a new safety audit to be undertaken at the Sellafield nuclear plant in September.
In a letter sent Wednesday, Britain's Minister of State for Energy and Industry, Mr John Battles, informed the Minister of State a three-week period. three weeks.
In the letter, Mr Battles told Mr Jacob that the inspection would involve 11 nuclear inspectors and two inspectors from Britain's independent Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
He would send Mr Jacob a copy of the HSE findings, expected to be made public at the end of the year.
At a meeting of the two men in Dublin in May, Mr Jacob raised concerns about staffing at Sellafield.
In his letter, Mr Battles stressed that there were safeguards in place to ensure adequate staff levels at all BNFL sites but he promised to speak to the HSE on the matter.
He said if the HSE was not satisfied with any part of the "safety case" submitted by a nuclear licensee such as BNFL, it had extensive enforcement powers to put this right, including in an extreme case requiring an operator to shut down a plant.
Mr Battles said in its safety review the NII would examine all specifications "rigorously" in satisfying itself that the "safety case" proposed by BNFL was robust.
A spokeswoman for Mr Jacob said last night the Minister welcomed the review, pointing out that Mr Jacob has led opposition to the Sellafield plant in the past.
The Green Party spokesman for marine and natural resources, Mr Trevor Sargent, said news of the inspection was further evidence of Sellafield's shaky record.