Dermot Ahern: Govt will continue fight for Sellafield closure

Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern has promised that the Government will continue to fight for the closure of the Sellafield nuclear plant in Britain.

The pledge follows an opinion issued by an advisor to the European Court of Justice this morning stating that Ireland was wrong to bring Britain before a UN tribunal in an effort to have the facility shut down.

The Advocate General, whose opinion is usually adopted by the court, said Ireland would be in breach of EU rules if it continued with the case it instigated under the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea in 2001.

He said Ireland should instead have pursued its case within the EU institutions.

Asked about the setback this morning, Mr Ahern promised it would not deter the Government's quest against Sellafield.

"Today's event isn't the end of the situation," he said. "We don't get any economic benefits from Sellafield and yet, at the same time, we have to put up with the pollution and the danger that it causes.

"I can assure people that we will continue to use every avenue, both legal and otherwise, to state our case in relation to a dirty plant on our doorstep."