Sir, – It is the Government’s job to drive policy on factors of public concern, including economic and, crucially, energy security. The Citizens’ Assembly in 2016 set the scene of nuclear neglect by omitting it from debate on “How to make Ireland a leader in tackling climate change”; since then governments have been woefully negligent in researching and communicating the possible benefits of small nuclear reactors likely to be coming on stream towards the end of this decade.
Removal of our two legal barriers to nuclear energy would be a step towards honest political and public debate on how to decarbonise our society effectively. We need to deal with this political obstruction now; then we can concentrate on increasing public understanding and support for replacement of high-carbon gas with a proportion of low-carbon nuclear on the grid. – Yours, etc,
Dr ANNE BAILY,
Carrick-on-Suir,
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Co Tipperary.