Press Releases
Forfá nuclear option is not right for ireland - O'Malley
Progressive Democrats press office
April 4, 2006
Forfás' nuclear option is not right for Ireland - O'Malley
Progressive Democrats Energy Spokeswoman Fiona O'Malley says her Party does not believe that the nuclear option is the correct one for Ireland.
The Dun Laoghaire deputy, who recently launched her Party's Energy Policy, said she agreed with the findings of the Forfás report that there should be greater use of renewable energy sources such as wind, wave, biomass and tidal energy.
"While I recognised that it is prudent to consider the nuclear option in the context of a mix of sources for energy, the considerable opposition to nuclear power in Ireland - combined with our lack of nuclear infrastructure and high construction costs - would make the completion of any project uncertain and its cost estimation almost impossible," she said.
Deputy O'Malley said Irelands wind power and potentially wave power resources meant that the adoption of nuclear energy was unnecessary, given the advances that have been made in the technologies for harnessing these resources in the past twenty-five years.
She said she shared Forfás' concern that Ireland was one of the countries most vulnerable to shortages in oil and gas.
"We are at the extremity of the European gas network. Almost 90% of our energy supplies are now imported - the highest level in our history. Meanwhile, our oil and natural gas storage capacity is well below the European norm."
She said it was essential that energy policies were formulated and implemented to maximise the exploitation of indigenous energy resources; very actively support renewable energy development; encourage energy efficiency and conservation; make future energy supplies more secure, by developing adequate stocks of imported fuels; minimise the overall cost of energy to the economy the future, thus improving our competitive position.
For further information please contact Mary Minihan in the Progressive Democrats press office on 01-6183615 or 087-1225140. Many thanks.