Ahern to seek UK assurances on nuclear power

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern is expected to seek confirmation from the Northern Secretary Peter Hain today that …

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern is expected to seek confirmation from the Northern Secretary Peter Hain today that the island of Ireland will remain a "nuclear-free zone".

Mr Ahern is meeting Mr Hain at Hillsborough today as part of the regular British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference talks on bilateral cooperation.

It is expected Mr Ahern will raise the issue, following confirmation earlier this month that Britain plans to build a new generation of nuclear power plants to supply its energy needs.

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed the nuclear power question is likely to be raised by Mr Ahern during this morning's meeting, along with a wide range of other issues.

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He said the parties had enjoyed good cooperation in the past on a range of issues.

Today's wide-ranging talks will cover general political developments on Northern Ireland, as well as continuing violence by loyalist paramilitaries.

The murder of the young Catholic teenager Michael McIlveen (15) in Ballymena, Co Antrim last May will also be raised, the spokesman confirmed.

"A whole range of issues will be covered. One of the things we have worked on together is to maximise the contribution of renewable and sustainable forms of energy," the spokesman added.

He said the Government was seeking a commitment that "the island of Ireland will remain a nuclear-free zone".

"It is a very important issue for the Government."

Asked if that commitment would be sought today, he said: "We are pushing very hard for it."

Talks will conclude at Hillsborough shortly before lunchtime today. Mr Ahern and Mr Hain are expected to speak to the media afterwards.

The Irish Government has repeatedly voiced its objections, a governmental, diplomatic and legal levels, to the ongoing operation of the Sellafield nuclear operation in Cumbria.

Just last week, Britain's Environment Agency took enforcement action against the operator British Nuclear Group Sellafield Ltd over a leak of 8,000 litres of radioactive water at the plant last February.

The radioactively contaminated water was lost from a storage pond but was safely collected in the effluent system designed for such incidents, the operator said.

Sinn Fein's environment spokesman Arthur Morgan called on Mr Ahern to "strongly outline" Ireland's opposition to nuclear power in Britain during today's meeting with Mr Hain.

Mr Morgan said it is "not enough" for Peter Hain to give a commitment that the Six Counties will remain nuclear free"and that the Minister must outline the implications for Ireland of nuclear power in Britain.

"The Irish Government must be clear in opposing moves by the British to build more nuclear reactors which will have the same kind of implications for Ireland, especially in terms of health, which Sellafield has at the moment," Mr Morgan said.

"The waste from these reactors will be going to Sellafield for reprocessing which will add to the devastating effects already endured by the people on the east coast of Ireland."

"This is no time for a soft approach from the Irish government. We have all seen the implications Sellafield has had on our country. Dermot Ahern must take a stand on behalf of the Irish people and demand that Britain pulls back from its nuclear agenda and pursues a policy of renewable energy and the promotion of the technologies which are energy saving."