Ahern defends State’s nuclear disaster plan

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday defended the State’s plan to deal with a nuclear disaster at Sellafield, or elsewhere, telling the Dáil it had been “audited, tested and validated internationally in line with best practice”.

He was responding to criticism from Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who raised the subject in the context of yesterday’s 20th anniversary of the explosion at Chernobyl.

Mr Kenny said a recent survey had shown seven-out-of-10 people believed the Government was ill-prepared for a national emergency such as a similar explosion at the British nuclear plant.