Laois man to spearhead Britain's 'nuclear renaissance'

A Laois man is set to lead a taskforce in the UK as part of the British Prime Minister's plans to accelerate a so-called  'renaissance' of nuclear power in Britain as part of driving economic success.

A statement from the British Government said John Fingleton from Cullenagh, Ballyroan has been appointed as the lead for Keir Starmer's Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce to speed up new nuclear plants as part of the government’s Plan for Change.

It said the appointment of the business expert is the latest step in the Prime Minister’s ambitious plan to unleash nuclear from planning burdens to build new plants, driving energy security and economic growth.

The UK Government said that, as a former boss of the Office of Fair Trading and the Board of UK Research and Innovation, the Laois man brings significant experience from outside the nuclear industry. In his new role Mr Fingleton, a former pupil of St Mary's CBS secondary school in Portlaoise, will be tasked with leading a panel of nuclear experts to "unlock economic growth and accelerate towards net zero".

“I am very pleased to lead this important work to improve how the UK delivers new nuclear capacity," said Mr Fingeton. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

PICTURED: John Fingleton

“I will work closely with business, regulators and other interested individuals and groups to identify how regulation can better enable and incentivise investment in this area.

“New nuclear power is essential to deliver greater productivity growth for the UK economy and greater prosperity for workers and consumers across the UK. The task force will work hard to ensure that we can achieve those goals,” he said in a statement.

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Britain is currently considered one of the world’s most expensive countries in which to build nuclear power. The taskforce will look at how to speed up the approval of new reactor designs and streamline how developers engage with regulators.  

The Laois man will report to Britain's Energy Secretary Ed Miliband who is a former leader of the Labour Party in the UK which Mr Starmer now leads.

“John is equipped with the right experience to drive this review with the urgency required to deliver on our nuclear ambitions,” he said.

Mr Fingleton is the son of Brendan and Mai Fingleton. The Trinity College Dublin graduate is also a past winner of the Leinster Express / Laois Person of the Year Award in 2003.

The citation for the award read at the time was: "Interests as diverse as farmers and pharmacists, the legal profession and the licensed trade, have all felt the force of his unstinting views and his pursuance of the public interest. Regardless of being viewed as friend as foe his views are taken seriously in all quarters, and at the highest levels of decision making."

He rose to national prominence in Ireland in the year 2000 when appointed chairman of the Competition Authority of Ireland.

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 Queen's New Year Honours for services to the economy and innovation.