A former minister of state has called on the Government to join Austria in a legal action it plans against a proposed nuclear power station at Hinkley, Somerset, in southwest England.

Government backbencher Joe Costello said the EU Commission's decision that the proposed €31.2 billion deal to build the power plant should be allowed to receive a state subsidy for its construction and operation "came as a surprise to everybody".

Mr Costello, a former minister of state for foreign affairs, said it was very difficult to see how the deal could be “other than contrary to the anti-competition laws”.

He said Austria’s legal action was “very specifically on the state subsidy issue”, and if the commission did not regard a state subsidy as anti-competitive “we could have a new generation of heavily-subsidised nuclear power plants across Europe”.

Minister for Health Leo Varadkar said it was not necessarily the case "that we can simply join Austria. Ireland would need to consider its own legal strategy. Once the commission's decision is published the Government will consider its implications carefully."

Ireland had written to the UK about potential environmental impacts, and Britain’s position was that Hinkley Point would not radioactively contaminate any other state’s water, soil or airspace.

Speaking for Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan, Mr Varadkar told Mr Costello that state subsidies were allowed for renewable energy and in Ireland the renewable energy feed-in tariff guaranteed a price for renewable energy.