Sellafield closure - Five years wasted in botched bid

ARGUABLY, Ireland’s botched bid to get the United Nations to close the Sellafield nuclear plant was doomed from the outset.

Unsurprisingly, the European Court of Justice found the Government had broken EU law by taking the UN route. As a result, five years have been squandered in the battle to close the plant.

Meanwhile, the threat of a nuclear disaster grows as new atomic units are likely there.

Putting a brave face on this bleak scenario, Environment Minister Dick Roche defied logic by attempting to salvage a positive dimension from a failure of monumental proportions.

Clearly, he was clutching at straws in claiming Ireland had clarified an ambiguity by establishing that the European court had jurisdiction over Sellafield. Surely, the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats coalition should have been aware of that.

Other European states may be committed to nuclear energy but that does not detract from Ireland’s case. It is perfectly justifiable to demand the shutdown of a potentially hazardous plant with a history of accidents and mismanagement.

After spending five years and an unspecified amount of taxpayers’ money chasing a red herring, the Government must now pursue the case to close Sellafield in Strasbourg even, albeit five years late.