I do not know whether the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste or the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Bruton, is best placed to answer this question. It relates to the proposal to use the Mourne Mountains as a storage area for nuclear waste by the nuclear authorities in the UK. My understanding is that the Scottish Assembly ruled out such deep geological storage of nuclear waste in Scotland but the Northern Ireland Assembly agreed. It is uncertain as to what the parties in government in Northern Ireland have agreed or why they did so. That is one of the details the Government should seek to find out. The State has an interest in the matter under the Espoo Convention and a range of other conventions on transboundary effects. The Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea but they also sweep down to our waters and land. What contacts has the Government had with the UK authorities? What legislative or other measures does it intend to take to protect the people of Louth and the wider area? The material will be there for millennia. What, if anything, is the Government doing about this?

I call Deputy Fitzpatrick on the same matter.

Fear is spreading rapidly in my home county of Louth that the UK Government is considering dumping hazardous waste in the Mourne Mountains on the border of County Louth. We must nip this in the bud straight away. The UK Government radioactive waste management group is currently looking for suitable properties in Northern Ireland to take hazardous waste and the Mourne Mountains are believed to be on the list.

More than anybody else, the Taoiseach realises that Louth has had its fair share of problems due to hazardous waste, as Sellafield is right across the Irish Sea. The proposal is not acceptable. I hope this is not happening because Northern Ireland has no government for the past two years. Currently, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley, MP, and civil servants are keeping the Departments operational and even today are looking for more power, including for the appointment of the Northern Ireland Attorney General, the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, as well as members of the Commission for Victims and Survivors and the Livestock and Meat Commission. I urge the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste to please help County Louth. We had Sellafield for years and the last thing we want is to have hazardous waste in the Mountains of Mourne.

We are aware of this story and are following it closely with some concern. I will meet Karen Bradley later this week and I will raise the issue with her. We need more details on it. I take on board the concern of both colleagues.