The issue of costs - believed to be in the region of €l million - following a 10-year legal battle in High Court proceedings against the Attorney General and British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) at Sellafield, Cumbria, was adjourned by Mr Justice Peart yesterday.
Last February the judge found that the High Court did not have jurisdiction to decide if the nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield should have been subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in line with EU directives.
The four Co Louth residents who took the High Court action claimed Britain had failed to observe EU directives in relation to the reprocessing plant and wanted an injunction from the High Court directing BNFL to comply with those directives. They were Constance Short, Mary Kavanagh, Mark Deery and Ollan Herr.
BNFL had claimed that the Irish courts could not pronounce on or invalidate the regulatory procedures adopted and fulfilled by the sovereign bodies of another EU member-state.
Mr Justice Peart said he wanted to think about the matter and he would let the parties know his ruling as soon as possible.