Vol. 482 No. 6
36 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she has submitted the formal information requested by the European Commission from her Department to allow the European Commission's Competition Directorate to make a decision on the State aid aspect of the proposals for funding a natural gas trunkline from Dublin to Galway and south to Limerick; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18971/97]
100 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the decisions, if any, taken by the Government in relation to the extension of the national gas network; and the proposals, if any, she will bring to Cabinet in this regard, as promised in An Action Programme for the Millennium. [18545/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 36 and 100 together.
One of the key priorities for the energy sector in the Programme for Government An Action Plan for the Millennium is to extend natural gas as far as practicable to major towns and cities. I am fully committed to this policy objective.
Apart from the decision referred to in the reply to Questions Nos. 23, 47 and 63 on 1 October 1997, no decisions have been taken by the Government in relation to the extension of the natural gas network. That reply set out BGE's plans for extension of the natural gas network.
