Greens welcome UK Greenpeace ruling

The Green Party welcomed the positive outcome of Greenpeace's legal challenge against the UK government and said it would strengthen the anti-nuclear lobby in Ireland.

Green Party Environment spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe TD said: "I congratulate Greenpeace on taking this case. Their success has demonstrated that the UK government's decision to favour the construction of new nuclear plants was reliant on incomplete economics and a downgraded assessment of the huge problems of managing radioactive waste.

"In ruling that Tony Blair's decision to support the construction of new nuclear power stations was 'legally flawed', the British High Court has significantly weakened the case of the nuclear lobby in the UK and elsewhere.

"The Green Party welcomes a full and proper debate about nuclear power in Ireland. We are confident that policies which support renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements are key to the securing of an affordable and safe energy supply.

"Today's court decision supports what we have long argued: nuclear power is neither economically viable nor environmentally acceptable," concluded Deputy Cuffe.