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Minister Gormley Committed to the Safe Decommissioning of Sellafield.

29/05/08

Mr. John Gormley, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, today (29 May 08) outlined his continued commitment to the cessation of the reprocessing operations at Sellafield.  The Minister was commenting on the publication of a report which was commissioned by Friends of the Earth in relation to the reprocessing operations at Sellafield. 

The Minister stated:   “I will ask officials of my Department and the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland to consider carefully the content and implications of this report and to advise me in due course”.

“I have always had concerns in relation to the operations at Sellafield and since entering office I have articulated them to the U.K. Government at both Ministerial and official levels.  I am very aware of the legacy of accidents and incidents that have occurred at Sellafield over the years and the implications for the people and the environment of Ireland that could arise. 

The Minister added:  “The current Programme for Government continues the commitment to pursuing our political, diplomatic and legal efforts with a view to securing the safe decommissioning of all nuclear reprocessing facilities at Sellafield.  Our efforts have resulted in a much improved level of cooperation with the UK authorities on issues such as monitoring, access for the Gardai and the RPII to Sellafield, and information exchanges”. 

“At EU level, we are supporting efforts by the European Commission to develop an increased safety role across the nuclear industry.  The adoption of recent European Council Conclusions on the establishment of the EU High Level Regulators Group is a significant development in the area of nuclear safety.  We have made our position clear that the transboundary risks of nuclear installations need to be fully reflected in the instruments and structures of the EU,” ended the Minister.

ENDS

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