Environment minister Dick Roche has informed senior European officials that he would oppose any move to switch inspections away from nuclear plants in older member states to plants in the 10 new member states which joined the EU in May 2004.

The plan is being justified as the best use of available resources in light of the poor state of the nuclear industry in the 10 new countries and treaty obligations to improve nuclear safety in those states.

"We radically disagree that the EU should switch resources to the new countries. It would be fundamentally wrong to treat different member states differently. We have no reason to trust British Nuclear Fuels on safety matters, " Roche told the Sunday Tribune.

The environment minister met last week in Brussels with two EU commissioners, vicepresident Franco Frattini and Anreas Piebalgs, who has responsibility for nuclear energy and protection.

"The commission has been notably inactive to date but I called them to account, " Roche said.

The government wants the commission to increase its involvement in dealing with Sellafield and the implications from the leak discovered at the Thorp plant early last year.

"The commission now has a legal and moral imperative to up its game in tackling the UK failures, " Roche said.

There is still annoyance in government circles at the EU Commission's decision to instigate legal action against Ireland for taking a case against the United Kingdom in the United Nations courts.

The case is now being pursued through the European Courts, although Roche said the government may ultimately take a legal action against the European Commission itself should it fail to assist in the action against Sellafield. A final decision on the legitimacy of Ireland's right to use the UN courts is expected shortly.

"We make no apology for pursuing all legal and political action to further our case, " Roche said.