The Northern Ireland Assembly has called for the closure of the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant.
On a motion calling for the closure, it was said the Northern Executive had not been consulted by the British government before it decided to license the new MOX reprocessing facility at the plant.
The Environment Minister, Mr Sam Foster, said he had written to his Westminster counterpart, Ms Margaret Beckett, and the Trade and Industry Minister, Mr Stephen Byers on the security implications of the decision.
Dr Ian Paisley (DUP leader) said "the Minister who is responsible to the people of Northern Ireland for this particular issue wasn't even told about it. I think that is absolutely ridiculous."
Moving the original motion, which was superseded by an amendment by Mr Eddie McGrady of the SDLP, Mr Kieran McCarthy (Alliance Party) said the plant already had a terrible safety record and that in one incident "only action by staff narrowly averted distaste".
Mr Jim Shannon (DUP) warned "the fallout from a nuclear explosion (at Sellafield) would wipe out all life in the Strangford constituency and a brave few other folk as well".
Mr McGrady accused the British government of having flouted a number of conventions and agreements on radioactive discharges such as the 1998 OSPAR convention. .
Mr Mick Murphy (Sinn FΘin) described as evidence of "an attack on the innocent". EU research which said eight times higher then normal childhood leukaemia rates might be related to nearby reprocessing plants such as Sellafield.
Mr Foster said that while he took members' concerns seriously, "we should not worry people unnecessarily".
The motion calling for the plant's closure was passed without dissent.
Renagh Holohan, in Bournemouth, writes:
There would be horrendous consequences for Ireland if Sellafield suffered a terrorist attack, a Louth Fianna Fβil TD, Mr Seamus Kirk, told the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body here yesterday.
He said that if Sellafield was attacked or if there was an accident "it would have disastrous consequences for the people of Cumbria, but it would also have very serious implications for us".
Mr Conor Lenihan, a Fianna Fβil TD, said that next month a sub-committee of the BIIPB would visit Sellafield to investigate the security measures.
Mr Elfyn Llwyd, Plaid Cymru MP, praised the stance taken by the Irish Government at the Law of the Sea Tribunal, which was of benefit to all people of the islands.
Mr Tony Coleman MP, Labour, said there did not appear to be any economic or business case to be made for nuclear energy.
Lord Dubs (Labour) supported the Sellafield plant.