Galway and the west of Ireland will be the central focus of a major seminar which the Nuclear Free Local Authorities All-Ireland forum is holding in City Hall tomorrow.
This will be the first time the Manchester based body has held a meeting in the west of Ireland. As a result the meeting will focus on the extent of Sellafield derived waste on the west coast; the prospects for Irish renewable energy; and Ireland’s potential role to challenge British plans for construction of new nuclear plants.
Independent marine radiation consultant, Tim Deere-Jones, will address the forum, and inform councillors and officers about what he feels are the level and potential risk of Sellafield derived radioactive discharges detected from Donegal to Galway Bay to Bantry Bay.
He will also argue that Sellafield derived radioactivity has been identified in samples of seawater, coastal sediment and seaweed at the three west coast monitoring sites since the 1980s.
The seminar will also consider the prospects for developing the renewable energy sector in Ireland, particularly onshore and off the west coast of Ireland. Former Green Party senator, TD and councillor Dan Boyle will address the planning and political issues that are required to bring about a “low carbon renewable energy revolution” across Ireland.
The meeting will also discuss the impacts on Ireland of a new British nuclear reactor programme and the role the Irish Government can play in challenging it.
For more information on NFLA see www.nuclearpolicy.info
