Omega Air boss Ulick McEvaddy has told Irish business leaders going nuclear is the only 'green' option if the country is to meet carbon emission targets.

Speaker at ACCA Ireland's Business Leaders Forum on Thursday the aviation chief executive outlined the case for nuclear energy in Ireland.

He said if the country is to stand any chance of meeting its commitments to reduce carbon emissions, it needs to look at realistic alternatives to fossil fuels.

"We are now in the era of cheaper, more efficient, reliable and most important of all, safer nuclear power and the old arguments have to be set aside," said Mr McEvaddy.

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He claimed one of the strongest arguments for nuclear energy is the push for 'greener' fuels.

"Green alternatives to oil and gas such as wind or wave turbines, tidal power plants and solar technology do not have a reliable track record to date. For a constant source of clean power, nuclear energy would be the only realistic option," suggested the renowned Boeing supplier.

Mr McEvaddy also highlighted the other key argument in favour of nuclear energy, which he said is security of supply.

"All of our oil is imported, the majority of it from some of the most politically unstable regions on Earth.

"They literally have us over a barrel in terms of price and availability. Nuclear power has no such issue as the two largest sources of uranium, the raw material for nuclear plants, are Canada and Australia, both very stable countries," added Mr McEvaddy.

(PR/JM)