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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 24 May 1990

Vol. 399 No. 2

Ceisteanna — Questions Oral Answers. - Gas Interconnector.

Tomás MacGiolla

Question:

3 Tomás Mac Giolla asked the Minister for Energy if EC financial backing will be available for the proposed gas pipeline between Ireland and Britain; the level of financial support; the likely cost of the project; if a timetable has been set for its completion; who will be responsible for managing the pipeline; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Dinny McGinley

Question:

23 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Energy the price at which gas can be obtained for purchase via the proposed interconnector.

Andrew Boylan

Question:

77 Mr. Boylan asked the Minister for Energy the way in which the proposed gas interconnector will be funded; and the effects which this will have on dividends payable to the Government in the next five years.

I intend to take Questions Nos. 3, 23 and 77 together.

The European Commission recently announced its decision to set aside a special allocation of 300 million ECU for specific energy projects including a gas interconnector between Ireland and Britain. While it is too early to say what the precise EC contribution will be, this decision allows ample scope for substantial Commission support.

A considerable amount of work has been done by my Department and by Bord Gáis Éireann on the project, and I expect we will shortly be in a position to begin negotiations for supply and construction contracts with a view to having the gas on stream during the winter of 1993-94.

The project will be commissioned by Bord Gáis Éireann, and arrangements for pipeline management would be a matter for decision by the board in due course.

It is not possible to give a firm cost for the project at this stage. A rough estimate for an under-sea gas interconnector pipeline is between £100 million and £200 million, depending on route and pipe size chosen. The price of gas obtained via an interconnecting pipeline will be a matter for negotiation and it would not be appropriate for me to speculate at this stage.

Funding, nett of Community assistance, will be provided by the board, in association if appropriate, with any coventurer. It is not possible to estimate the effect of this on BGE's Exchequer dividend; that will depend, inter alia, on the amount and cost of any debt, the price of imported gas and the commercial results.

A brief question, Deputy. The Chair has been accused of going over time.

I was not responsible for that. The Minister is unable to give us an estimate of what the project will cost or the funding we will obtain from the European Communtiy. However, I take it that the cost of the project will depend on the line of the pipeline. The Minister has not yet told us where it is going to be located. I also take it that the cost to the consumer will depend on the cost of the project, in other words the higher the cost the higher the cost of gas to the consumer. Can the Minister tell us if the shortest possible line has been chosen and if the question of security was taken into account in assessing the cost?

The question of security will be given careful consideration. All I can tell the Deputy at this stage is the possible routes for the pipeline. There are two being considered. One is from Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria to Dublin, just north of the city, and the other one is from Anglesey to Dublin, also at a point north of Dublin city. There is no point in speculating about the cost of constructing the pipe at this stage. A lot of work has to be done and it will go to public tender. We cannot estimate the amount of funding that will become available when we do not even know the exact cost of the project. I am anxious to keep the House informed. I have done so ever since we first started to make progress with this after Christmas last. I have given the House as much information as I can but these are questions that I just cannot answer at this stage, as any reasonable person will accept.

I must proceed now to other questions.

I have another very brief question. The Minister has not answered.

That is not the fault of the Chair.

We cannot get answers. How is the Minister to have negotiations when he does not know where the pipleline will be? It is all right to laugh at it, but the Minister cannot tell us. If he knows, why can he not tell us where precisely?

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