I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 41 together.
The report of the Working Group on Interconnection which I received in June 1988 concluded, based on detailed assessment of future supply and demand that a decision on gas imports is not required until 1991 or 1992 and recommended that the matter be reviewed in detail in three years' time. I have accepted this recommendation. Monitoring of the existing systems capability to meet demand is ongoing and I am keeping a close eye on this. The agreement which I have just signed with Marathon has its own special relevance in this regard.
I have not sanctioned preparation of plans for an electricity interconnector with the United Kingdom and I have not had any recent discussions with the British authorities regarding interconnection with either the UK mainland or Northern Ireland. The working group concluded that the link with the UK appears to be economically viable and merits consideration of proceeding with pre-contract phase discussions and studies sometime next year. It felt that the most attractive available option would be a 600 megawatt high voltage DC cable to the UK. It also concluded that there is a strong economic case for restoration of the link to Northern Ireland but there are other difficulties involved in this regard. Continuous attacks and threats by subversives have frustrated efforts to repair the line since it first went out of action in 1975.