If Ireland plans to build a nuclear power plant in the future, it should do so as part of Britain's network , according to ESB chief executive Pádraig McManus. The company would like to own a UK nuclear station in the very long term, McManus said.

Speaking as the semi-state announced the creation of 3,700 new 'green' jobs last week, McManus said nuclear power was economically viable only if you can build a large number of power plants.

"If we really wanted to be successful in building a nuclear plant, we should build one as part of the UK fleet and use their economies of scale rather than us gearing up our entire infrastructure to build one nuclear station," he said.

Last week, the British government announced it is pushing ahead with plans to develop 11 new nuclear power stations, including two near Sellafield. The ESB is building a gas-powered plant in Southampton with Scottish and Southern Energy. However, McManus said the company does not intend to own or get involved in the construction of any of the proposed nuclear plants. While it is too early to start considering the nuclear option, the ESB would be interested in owning a British-based nuclear power station in the future, he said.

"Ireland is a very small country and nuclear is a very big step. To get the benefits of nuclear you have to build a lot of stations and build the economies of scale. Ireland will always need two fuels and interconnection. If gas runs out as quickly as people say, then we will be totally reliant on coal – hopefully at that time clean coal, but that is 15 or 20 years away," he said.

The jobs announced last week will be created through external private ventures funded by the ESB. They mainly relate to the roll-out of smart metering, the creation of infrastructure to support the introduction of electric cars, wind energy, and home energy efficiency audits. Some 550 construction jobs will be created with the €200m redevelopment of the ESB's Dublin headquarters. When complete, 40% of the building will be sold or leased to generate revenue.