Roche optimistic over Sellafield ruling

Minister for the Environment Dick Roche has said that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision that the Republic acted illegally by going to the UN over Sellafield will have positive consequences in the longer term.

The court ruled that the Republic should have taken its case against the UK to the European Court instead of an arbitral panel at the UN. The judgment said that the Government should have consulted the EU institutions before initiating its legal action in 2001.

The Republic was claiming that radioactive waste from Sellafield in northwest England was polluting the Irish sea. The case was brought to the tribunal under UN maritime law.
Mr Roche said that the decision meant that the Republic could now go straight to the European court if it felt nuclear activities in the UK could prove harmful to the environment. He said that disputes such as these were now made clearer.

It means that certain international agreements are now within the European court’s remit in as much as disputes arose under them. A case could be brought to the European court if circumstances allowed for it.
Labour spokesperson on nuclear safety Emmet Stagg stated that the ruling showed the discrepancy in relation to the commission’s attitude to nuclear safety.

“Once again I am totally bewildered by the commission’s attitude towards Sellafield. One moment they are issuing warnings of safety failures at the plant, yet the next they take Ireland to the European court for seeking its closure,” he said.