asked the Minister for Energy the steps, if any, the Government intend to take to prevent the British authorities from proceeding with the proposed experiment at the Trawsfynydd nuclear plant in north Wales, which many experts consider to be extremely dangerous and a potential threat to the safety of people living in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

19.

asked the Minister for Energy the steps he intends to take to ensure that the proposed test at Trawsfynydd in Wales does not go ahead, including in particular any legal action contemplated; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

64.

asked the Minister for Energy whether the failure of the British authorities to inform his Department of the proposed testing in Trawsfynnyd represented a breach in agreed notification procedures.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 16, 19, and 64 together. I share the concerns of Deputies about the CEGB proposal to carry out tests at the Trawsfynydd plant. Taking into account that the plant is now operating well beyond its original life span, the long-standing concerns about the safety of the ageing Magnox type reactors which have no secondary containment and which are known to be suffering from internal weakening of vital components, as well as the history of incidents at Trawsfynydd, the Government are completely opposed to the carrying out of experiments on this plant.

I have written to the UK Secretary of State for Energy, Mr. Parkinson, expressing the Irish Government's total opposition to the experiment at Trawsfynydd, and requesting an early meeting to discuss the matter. The Irish Government were not notified in advance about this experiment or similar experiments carried out in the past.

The failure of the British authorities to take account of the concerns of the Irish people on a matter of such relevance to us is very disturbing and I hope to take this up with Mr. Parkinson at the meeting with him which I have requested.

I also contacted the EC Commissioner, Mr. Stanley Clinton Davis, who told me that he has written directly to Mr. Parkinson to remind the UK Government of the provisions of Article 34 of the Euratom Treaty. Article 34 provides that where a member state proposes to carry out particularly dangerous experiments it shall first obtain the opinion of the Commission and where it might affect the territory of another member state it shall require the assent of the Commission.

The Government are reviewing the legal possibilities open to them to stop the experiment in the event that the authorities involved permit the experiment to proceed. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.

As Question No. 16 is the first question, I think the normal procedure is that I speak——

There are questions down from a number of Deputies. I will call the Deputy in due course.

Arising out of the procedure, the Deputy is not here.

The Deputy who tabled the question to whom the Member I think refers is not present.

Can the Minister tell the House whether the British authorities have replied to the request from the EC Commissioner, Stanley Clinton Davis, and, if so, whether he has since been in contact with the Commissioner and whether he has made a decision on whether this test will go ahead? Obviously, the Government have fears about the proposed test going ahead. What arrangements have we made here to cope with the eventuality of the test going wrong and getting into the area of an emergency plan which he spoke about almost a year ago and looking for evidence to the effect——

I am sorry to interrupt the Deputy but I must advise the House that we are now encroaching on priority time and I ask the Members I call to be very brief.

On a point of order, is that question not the subject of a question I have down for priority?

It is being taken now.

The supplementary is the subject of a question——

I am prepared to facilitate the Deputies, as I said, if they will be brief. The fact remains that we have now entered Priority Question Time. Deputy Richard Bruton.