Roche repeats nuclear-free policy

Minister for the Environment Dick Roche has said that the Republic of Ireland will not get electricity generated by nuclear power stations in the UK.

He was speaking amid concerns that electricity bought through interconnectors with the UK could come from nuclear sources.

Although the British Government has announced plans to facilitate the construction of new nuclear power stations in the UK, Mr Roche has always said that the south would remain nuclear-free.

ESB chief executive Padraig McManus had said that there was no way of knowing if electricity from the UK was made from nuclear power. However, Mr Roche dismissed this comment. He said it was up to the state to decide if they would buy power from a “nuclear-dependent” state.