Since 1994, when planning permission for the MOX plant was granted, Ireland has conveyed to the UK authorities on numerous occasions, at official and ministerial level, by letter and at meetings, its opposition to the MOX plant, including detailed responses to five rounds of public consultation convened by the UK authorities. In October 2001 the UK Government announced that the manufacture of MOX fuel was justified in accordance with EU law. On 20 December that year the UK regulator, the Health and Safety Executive, gave the go-ahead for the plutonium commissioning of the plant.