The extent of the information exchanged between the British and Irish governments on Sellafield and not released to the public was a matter of surprise, Labour MP Mr Kevin McNamara said yesterday at a meeting of the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body.
Mr McNamara told the meeting in Manchester that the Irish Government was not taken unawares by particular leakages as there was an exchange of information by the appropriate authorities. It was also given information about the movements of ships in the Irish Sea.
He said more information should be made public to ensure an informed debate.
Because the waste was not being returned to its owners, as the contracts with British Nuclear Fuels stipulated, Mr McNamara added, Sellafield was becoming a nuclear dumping ground, a matter of grave concern.
There was also a question of the viability of subsidies given the fall in energy prices.
Fine Gael senator Mr Brian Hayes said the UN's International Atomic Agency had open access to Sellafield and had a permanent secretariat based there which reported regularly.
He proposed that the Irish Radiological Protection Institute should have a similar status. Whatever BNFL said about safety at Sellafield, the Irish people would not believe it.
The greatest chance of a proper debate would be if Ireland's own report was circulated.
This was a sensible suggestion on which the two governments could move, Mr Hayes said. Sellafield was a reality and more information was needed to face up to it.
Fianna Fáil senator Dr Martin Mansergh said no issue in Anglo-Irish relations was now as contentious as Sellafield and he would like to see it diffused. While few installations had the capacity for such disaster, the economics of it concerned him.
When the Irish Government, for example, wished to give €36 million to Aer Lingus, it was condemned in Brussels, yet the write-off by Britain of €36 billion seemed to pass off without comment.
"The rules of competition seem to be suspended where the nuclear industry is concerned," Dr Mansergh said. "I am principally motivated by the safety concerns but far too little attention is given to the economic argument."
Mr Jim Glennon TD (FF) said no issue had more potential than Sellafield to undermine the recent generation of trust between the two islands.
The inter-parliamentary body agreed that a constant subcommittee on Sellafield, chaired by Fianna Fáil senator Ms Mary O'Rourke, should monitor the situation and that the report before the body this week should be regarded as an interim statement.
It is to be sent to both governments as well as the devolved governments and to the British-Irish Council.
Ms O'Rourke said there was a need for more transparency.