{"id":444909,"date":"2026-05-12T12:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T12:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/444909\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T12:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T12:05:08","slug":"opinion-the-case-for-reassessing-nuclear-energy-in-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/444909\/","title":{"rendered":"OPINION: The case for reassessing nuclear energy in Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Looking at the case for a move to nuclear energy in Ireland, a bill was put forward last week by an Irish TD to reverse the ban on nuclear energy in the country.<\/p>\n<p>At a time when energy demands continue to rise each year and climate change becomes an ever more urgent challenge, countries are being forced to reconsider how they produce reliable, low-carbon electricity. Ireland has made remarkable progress in renewable energy, particularly wind power.<\/p>\n<p>We should be proud of that achievement. Wind farms across counties like Tipperary are now a familiar part of the landscape and have helped reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels.<\/p>\n<p>READ NEXT:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tipperarylive.ie\/news\/home\/2081267\/in-pictures-tipperary-protest-calls-for-sulky-racing-ban-on-public-roads.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">IN PICTURES: Tipperary protest calls for sulky racing ban on public roads<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Yet renewables alone have not solved the problem of reliable electricity supply.<\/p>\n<p>During a \u2018Clean Energy Options\u2019 talk in Carrick-on-Suir in 2023, an engineer with extensive experience in power generation called for the law banning nuclear power in Ireland to be rescinded.<\/p>\n<p>Engineer Denis Duff, who worked in power generation for the ESB for more than three decades, argued that Ireland should at least examine whether modern nuclear technology could play a role in the country\u2019s future energy supplies.<\/p>\n<p>READ NEXT:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tipperarylive.ie\/news\/clonmel\/2081133\/popular-tipperary-well-and-nearby-road-to-be-reopened-this-week.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Popular Tipperary well and nearby road to be reopened this week<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Economist Colm McCarthy echoed those sentiments, questioning why Ireland would rule out a technology before properly assessing its potential. Their argument was not that Ireland should immediately build nuclear plants tomorrow morning.<\/p>\n<p>Rather, it was that the country should not legally prohibit discussion and investigation into a technology many advanced economies are increasingly revisiting. The concerns surrounding nuclear power are understandable but the energy landscape has changed dramatically in recent years, it has been argued.<\/p>\n<p>Advocates say this evolution is precisely why it should be assessed on current evidence rather than historical fear.<\/p>\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT &#8211; CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT &#8211; CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT &#8211; CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT &#8211; CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT &#8211; CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT &#8211; CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT &#8211; CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT &#8211; CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT &#8211; CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Looking at the case for a move to nuclear energy in Ireland, a bill was put forward last&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":444910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43,9123,23123],"class_list":["post-444909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-tipperary","tag-tipperary-community-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/444910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=444909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=444909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}