Irish politicians today condemned the announcement by the British Government that its upcoming energy review could mean a new generation of nuclear power stations in the UK.
Opposition TDs said an increase in nuclear power in Britain could have dangerous consequences for Ireland and called on the Government to oppose any such move.
Earlier today British Prime Minister Tony Blair said nuclear power was back on the agenda with a vengeance as he revealed details of the UK government's long-awaited energy review.
At a conference disrupted by protests from Greenpeace campaigners, Mr Blair said Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks would aim to publish a statement on future policy in the early summer of 2006.
"It will include specifically the issue of whether we facilitate the development of a new generation of nuclear power stations," the Prime Minister said.
Fine Gael environment spokesman Fergus O'Dowd said a rise in the number of nuclear power stations would lead to more toxic waste being processed at Sellafield.
"The last thing the Irish people need is a rise in the amount of nuclear waste reprocessed 100 miles off the Irish coast.
"The British Government is right to analyse its energy policy but nuclear power is not the way forward and our Government must make that clear," he demanded.
Mr O'Dowd also warned that nuclear power stations were at risk from terrorist attacks and said renewable sources such as wind, wave and tidal energy, should be utilised by the UK.
Green Party environment spokesman Ciaran Cuffe also said nuclear power ran a significant risk of accidents, through failure, human error or terrorism.
"Passing on a nuclear waste legacy to our children is too high a price to pay for energy production," he said.
"The UK has still not figured out where to finally dispose of the nuclear waste from the current generation of nuclear power stations.
"The decommissioning bill for those stations has been estimated at eighty billion euro. That would buy a lot of wind turbines," he said.
Mr Cuffe said the Irish and UK Governments should work together to combat climate change by increasing fuel efficiency and investing in renewable energy sources.
Following Mr Blair's announcement, Minister for Environment Dick Roche pledged to oppose any move by Britain to increase the number of nuclear power stations it has.
"Ireland remains firmly opposed to the nuclear industry on the grounds of the many risks it poses to human health, the environment and the economy, as well as risks associated with waste and transport," he said.
"Environmental consequences have arisen for Ireland from historic and ongoing discharges to the sea from Sellafield and the potential risk for serious accident or incident at nuclear plants including Sellafield.
"Any proposals by the UK to develop new nuclear capacity must be addressed in this context," he said.
PA