The Government's legal battle against Britain over the Sellafield nuclear plant is "the most significant" it has ever undertaken, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern told the Dáil tody.
Yesterday, the Attorney General Mr Rory Brady, began a action at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to shut down the controversial plant.
It followed another legal action against Britain under the OSPAR (Oslo-Paris) convention on marine pollution, initiated last year and now pending a ruling.
"These cases have been the most significant legal actions taken by Ireland," Mr Ahern told the Dáil in response to questioning from the Green Party leader, Mr Trevor Sargent. "They represent the Government's absolute commitment to ensuring that our rights under these international conventions in relation to Sellafield and its operations are fully vindicated."
Mr Sargent said the Government should be prepared "to go the whole way" and "leave no stone unturned," even if that means appealing a negative verdict
Ireland, Mr Ahern said, had put in an "enormous amount of time and effort" into building a legal, technical and scientific team to fight the UNCLOS case, including consulting international experts.
The concerns relate to pollution caused by the discharge of radioactive waste from the MOX (mixed plutonium and uranium oxide) treatment plant at Sellafield. Britain claims the plant does not generate any significant radioactive waste.
The Taoiseach has demanded that Sellafield, which he has previously described as a "dinosaur of a defunct military-industrial complex" and the "single most serious threat" to Ireland's environment, be shut down.
The oral hearings in The Hague are due to continue until June 27th before a five-member tribunal.
Additional reporting: AFP