The Irish Government will continue to take a proactive role in opposing reprocessing operations at Sellafield. An Agreed Programme for Government has stated that we regard the continued existence of Sellafield as an unacceptable threat to Ireland; that it should be closed, and that we will use every diplomatic and legal route available to us to work towards the removal of this threat.

The Government has taken a demonstrable initiative in pursuit of this policy objective through its separate legal actions, in relation to the Sellafield MOX plant under the OSPAR Convention and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS. These actions are proceeding on schedule and are challenging operations at the Sellafield MOX plant on economic, legal, environmental and safety grounds.

In relation to the OSPAR case, oral hearings took place before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in October 2002 and a determination in the case is awaited. Oral hearings in respect of the UNCLOS case are expected to take place over three weeks beginning on 10 June 2003.

Ireland has also responded critically to various UK public consultation processes concerning the regulation of the UK nuclear industry covering such matters as the management of radioactive waste in the UK; a review of UK energy policy and the UK strategy for discharges from nuclear installations.

The Government has repeatedly pointed out that the risks and unresolved problems associated with the nuclear energy industry, when added to the high research and capital costs, including decommissioning costs, as well as continued additional safety and security costs, mean that nuclear energy is not sustainable.