The Government has said that large financial losses incurred by British Nuclear Fuels Limited vindicated the view that nuclear energy was economically unsustainable.
The Minister for the Environment , Mr Martin Cullen, said the deficit run up by BNFL confirmed Ireland's position in demanding that reprocessing activities at the Sellafield plant run by the company should be stopped.
Repeating the anti-Sellafield stance of successive Irish governments because of the pollution and environmental threats, Mr Cullen added: "We have on a number of occasions articulated our views on the lack of economical justification for the operation of the Sellafield mixed oxide plant.
"There is no justification, economic or otherwise for nuclear spent fuel reprocessing activities.
"Even if the economics were different, the many dangers and risks to public safety and health and to the environment associated with reprocessing significantly outweigh any possible economic benefits of this activity."
Mr Cullen said a separate report criticising BNFL's accounting policies reflected what the Government had been saying for some time by raising doubts about whether the company had the resources necessary to cover its long-term decommissioning liabilities. "The recently announced establishment by the UK Government of the Liabilities Management Agency which would have responsibility for the nuclear liabilities of BNFL, will allow BNFL to operate independently of the loss making side of its operations.
"This development - when viewed along with the huge losses reported today by BNFL - strengthens the Irish Government's resolve to continue to press for the cessation of activities at Sellafield."
- (PA)