IRELAND should seriously examine nuclear power as a way to reduce its future dependence on fossil fuels, Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said.
The Taoiseach added that in the short term, Ireland must speed up the development of offshore wind farms to increase the State’s supply of renewable energy.
The energy crisis following the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has again exposed Ireland’s reliance on oil and gas.
Speaking at a summit of more than 40 European leaders in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, Mr Martin said the Government should explore “all avenues” when it came to energy supply.
He said: “We certainly should look and examine seriously options like nuclear power, simply examine the advances in technology that have occurred.”
His comments come after Fianna Fail TD James O’Connor tabled legislation that would end the ban on nuclear power plants in the Republic.
The East Cork TD said: “Ireland has been ranked consistently as one of the most expensive energy markets in the world.
“This has brought enormous energy costs on to households and businesses; damaging our competitiveness and contributing to a growing cost-of-living crisis.”
He added: “I am glad to have the support of several senior Government colleagues on the need for Ireland to examine this as a realistic solution to decarbonising our economy and drastically reducing energy costs.”
The ban has been in place for over 25 years, but those who support a change to the law say the tech has advanced significantly since it was passed.
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Veteran Fianna Fail MEP Billy Kelleher blasted Ireland’s prohibition on nuclear as “bizarre” and “hypocritical” in April.
He and other advocates of the tech say cutting-edge Small Modular Reactors have lowered the cost and time taken to build a plant.
They produce far less energy than full-scale plants, but are built in factories so take less time to bring online.
However, Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman previously told The Irish Sun that adopting nuclear energy would take decades and be extremely expensive and that Ireland should instead double down on renewables.
Deputy O’Gorman said: “I think even the most generous timeline would say it would be the mid-2040s before we’d be getting any electricity from the nuclear.
“So that wouldn’t help us in terms of the decarbonization we need to do throughout the 2030s, but it also wouldn’t give us the security of supply that we need.
