Greens disappointed with EU court's Sellafield ruling

The Green Party has expressed disappointment with an EU ruling scuppering Ireland's attempt to get Sellafield shut down via the United Nations.

A legal advisor to the European Court of Justice issued an opinion this morning saying Ireland would be in breach of EU rules if it continued with the case it initiated under the UN Convention of the Laws of the Sea in 2001.

The Advocate General, whose opinion is usually adopted by the court, said Ireland should instead have pursued its case within the EU institutions.

Green Party TD Ciaran Cuffe said the ruling effectively meant that Ireland would have to start from scratch in bringing a new challenge to Sellafield via the EU.

"We're going back to square one," he said.

"It's taken us four years to get this far, but it looks like we'll have to start all over again with an action probably through the European Court of Justice.