Fine Gael said today it would elevate the Sellafield nuclear waste processing plant issue to the top of the agenda in relations with Britain if elected to government.
Ms Nora Owen criticised Mr Ahern's government for ignoring an offer from British Nuclear Fuels Ltd to permit an inspection of the controversial Cumbrian facility.
She claimed Fianna Fáil had done nothing to bring pressure to curb activities at the nuclear complex.
"Sellafield has expanded over the lifetime of Bertie Ahern's administration," she said.
Ms Owen said a strand of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement between the British and Irish governments had provided for structured relations, and Fine Gael would take action against Sellafield by "putting the plant at the top of the agenda in relations with Britain".
She said: "Fine Gael will use our significant influence as members of the powerful European People's Party to seek support from other EU states in the campaign against Sellafield - something that Fianna Fáil cannot do, as they have no real allies on the European stage."