Memorandum from John A. Belton to Seán Murphy (Dublin)
(19/4/B)

As you are aware, before leaving for Paris, I received an invitation from the British Ambassador to see on my way back from Paris the British authorities concerned to hear their views on the development of the peaceful purposes of atomic energy. I discussed the matter with the Minister and with the Ambassador in London and it was agreed that I should accept the invitation. Mr. Boland duly informed the Commonwealth Relations Office and later wired to me in Paris to say that I should turn up at No. 1 Richmond Terrace, Whitehall, at 11 a.m. on Thursday the 1st March. This I duly did and found that this very highly protected security building was the Atomic Energy Office. I was brought to the Conference Room where I met

1. Mr. How, the Undersecretary of the Office.

2. Mr. Thompson, his assistant.

3. Mr. Dukes of the Atomic Energy Authority.

4. Mr. Paterson of the Board of Trade.¹

5. Mr. Wright of the Ministry of Supply, and

6. Mr. Kimber of the Commonwealth Relations Office.²

(You are, of course, aware that Mr. Kimber is coming to Ireland next month to succeed Mr. Walsh-Atkins, Counsellor of the British Embassy.)

Mr. How opened the proceedings and it very shortly became clear that the purpose of the meeting was not as described by Sir A. Clutterbuck ‘to let you know how their minds are working’. After the usual conventional expressions of welcome and desire for co-operation, Mr. How asked me 1) if we intended to conclude the bilateral agreement with the USA and 2) if so, to what extent we intended to avail of it, meaning did we intend to purchase the research reactor and fuel materials from the USA.

I replied that 1) it was the present intention of the Irish Government to conclude the Agreement and 2) that the question of the purchase of the research reactor would be considered later.

Mr. How then proceeded to give me a lengthy lecture on the benefits we would derive from dealing with the British rather than the American Authorities in the matter of nuclear energy. The burden of his remarks was that the type of research reactor which the Americans would supply, i.e. the swimming pool type, would be at best an expensive toy capable of offering not much more than elementary training to students of engineering and physics. Having regard to our future needs for electrical power and the future supplies and costs of the conventional fuels (a subject on which he seemed singularly well informed) he and his colleagues were convinced as he was sure so were our authorities that the making of provision for atomic power electricity was a matter of vital urgency. What he was prepared to offer to the Irish Government was

1. facilities for the training in Great Britain for Irish nuclear engineers and physicists and
2. all available assistance to the Irish authorities for the construction as soon as possible in Ireland of a suitable atomic power station.

He developed his first point by saying that Great Britain could provide training facilities in three ways –

1. in the present research stations such as Harwell
2. in the later power stations such as Calder Hall which they expect to have in operation by 1959 and
3. in the special University courses on nuclear energy notably the proposed courses in Manchester University.

On the second point, he stated that Britain’s additional electrical needs would be met by 1966 by the construction of twelve atomic power stations each with a base load output of 200 megawatts i.e. 200 million watts and each costing £20 million. He said that the present stage of research in Great Britain clearly showed that, up to 1966 at least, the smallest economic nuclear unit was the 200 megawatt station. It was expected that the size of station would produce electric power at a cost of .6 of a penny per unit, which the British authorities would regard as economic. It was, of course, hoped that later research would enable small power stations of 60 or 70 megawatts output to be built and that the unit cost would steadily decrease. He was of opinion that the 26 Counties authorities might regard the 200 megawatt station as unduly large, but as time passed with steadily increasing electricity demands it would have to be implemented.

At this stage I said to Mr. How that the Minister for External Affairs had, in a public speech in Trinity College, Dublin,³ specifically stated that in the development of atomic energy in Ireland he would welcome close co-operation with the authorities of Northern Ireland. Mr. How indicated that he was aware of the Minister’s statement and said that he would like to discuss the question of co-operation from a purely technical angle as the Atomic Energy Office had no function in the political aspects of the matter. Mr. Kimber of the Commonwealth Relations Office intervened to say that his Office had no desire to discuss any political aspect at this stage and pointed out that the Republic had already made a number of agreements with Northern Ireland on technical matters without any question of politics being involved. I informed the meeting of the agreements to which Mr. Kimber referred and agreed with him that no element of politics had been involved.

Mr. How said that if we had been able to conclude a satisfactory agreement on the Erne-Hydro-Electricity Scheme there seemed to him to be no reason why we should not conclude a similar agreement on a nuclear energy station. What he would strongly recommend was that any such scheme should be left to technicians to the exclusion of Ministers of State and Civil Servants. He suggested that the best method of approach would be from the Electricity Supply Board to the Electricity Authority of Northern Ireland.

I asked Mr. How what guarantees Great Britain could offer as to the constant supply and approximate cost of the necessary fissile materials. He said that there was no doubt as to the indefinite continuance of supply but he could not at that stage give any idea as to cost. He pointed out that Britain’s primary interest in nuclear energy was its potentiality as a military weapon and electricity production was merely a by-product. The great bulk of the money now being poured into atomic research was aimed at bomb production and that consequently electricity production got the benefit of research at a relatively low cost. Ireland would, if it adopted the line suggested above get some of the benefit of this reduced cost. He said in conclusion that it might be a good idea for our Electricity Supply Board Authorities to have informal talks in this matter with the British Electricity Authority. He assured me that his Office was available at all times for further discussions at the Civil Service level.

I thanked him and the others present for the reception which I had received and the information which had been given to me. I added that my entire function in the matter was to note what had been said and to report thereon to the appropriate Irish Authorities.