Irish public-sector staff seconded to JET
The Minister clarified that JET at Culham is a European nuclear-fusion research project, not a power station, and listed six Irish public-sector staff currently seconded there.
asked the Minister for the Public Service if it is the case that seven senior officials from the Departments of Finance and Education, the ESB, An Foras Forbartha and the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards were seconded in connection with the building of a nuclear power station at Culham, England; and, if so, the reason they were seconded.
Comment on this
I assume that the Deputy is referring to the Joint European Torus, which is not a nuclear power station but a research project into the possibilities of nuclear fusion. The project, which is funded by the EEC, is situated at Culham, Oxfordshire, England. The project currently employs staff seconded from the Irish public sector as follows:
One from the Department of the Public Service; one from the Department of Posts and Telegraphs; two from An Foras Forbartha; two from the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards.
It is general policy that job opportunities for Irish people with international organisations and projects should be fully availed of.