Letter from Maurice Moynihan to Seán Murphy (Dublin)
(S15868C) (Secret)

In the light of the views expressed in your letter of the 9th instant¹ (your reference number P.280), I have had a further discussion with the Taoiseach on the extent to which the observations conveyed to John Belton by British officials on the 1st March last² should be disclosed to the Atomic Energy Committee.

When considering this matter previously, the Taoiseach was influenced by the confidential nature of the discussion with the British officials and the fact that so much of what those officials said raises questions of policy on matters that lie outside the scope of the Committee’s terms of reference. He is now, however, prepared to agree to your suggestion that, in addition to the intimation that facilities for the training of Irish nuclear engineers and physicists could be made available in Britain, as indicated, you might inform the Committee of

1. the view expressed by the British as to the type of research reactor which the Americans would supply,
2. the British offer of all available assistance to our authorities for the construction in Ireland, as soon as possible, of a suitable atomic power station and
3. the British views on possible co-operation between ourselves and the Six Counties in atomic power production.

It is assumed that it will be made clear to the Committee that all the British views and suggestions that are to be conveyed to the Committee were communicated to your Department on an informal and confidential basis.

I take it, by the way, that there is no question of the Electricity Supply Board’s entering into discussions with either the Electricity Authority of the Six Counties or the British Electricity Authority without appropriate Ministerial approval, secured in advance.

While I did not discuss this point with the Taoiseach, I feel that it is better, generally, to deal with the Atomic Energy Committee as a whole rather than to select any particular members for consultation on individual matters. If the Committee, on their own initiative, wished to establish sub-Committees for any specific purposes, that would be a different matter and one of domestic concern to themselves.