A group of Irish politicians who visited the Sellafield nuclear plant yesterday have welcomed an assurance by British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) that there is no objection in principle to having Irish experts permanently on site to monitor the operation.
BNFL, however, has made it clear the issue is one for the British nuclear regulator and the British government to decide.
The Irish politicians, Ms Marian McGennis and Mr Conor Lenihan of Fianna Fáil, and Mr Brian Hayes of Fine Gael, were part of a delegation from the environmental committee of the British Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body who toured the Sellafield plant with staff yesterday.
Originally they were to be confined to the Thorp reprocessing facility but the group was granted a last-minute request to see the controversial new MOX nuclear fuel manufacturing facility, against which the Government is mounting a legal challenge.
Afterwards they held a 45- minute question-and-answer session with BNFL chief executive Mr Norman Askew.
Ms McGennis said she still had grave concerns about the plant and was unhappy with the response to questions regarding the ability of the radioactive waste storage tanks to withstand terrorist attack or an accidental plane crash.
"He [MR ASKEW]was not willing to comment too much about that. They were not very clear about the no-fly zone and whether it existed or where it was.
"They said security had been tightened but they wouldn't go into specifics."
Ms McGennis said, however, it was significant that Mr Askew had clarified his position on access to the site for Irish experts.
Mr Hayes, who raised the issue, said Mr Askew accepted his point that Ireland's nuclear watchdog, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII), had a legitimate interest in being on site to monitor operations and report directly to the Government.
"He said he would not be against that in principle. That's something we now need to pursue."
The conciliatory nature of Mr Askew's remarks were in stark contrast to a statement issued by BNFL last weekend in which the company, in a rebuke targeted chiefly at the RPII, said calls for greater access to information about the plant's safety and security arrangements were "wholly disingenuous".
The company also complained that much of the recent debate in Ireland about the risk posed by the waste storage tanks was "based either on complete misrepresentation of the facts or apparently motivated by other agendas".
A BNFL spokeswoman said last night the statement was in line with Mr Askew's comments. "The point we're making is that a policy and procedures are in place for the supply of information and it's up to the Irish and British governments to discuss any changes." Editorial comment: page 15