Vol. 486 No. 1
319 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the nature of the political agreement reached at EU Council of Ministers level on the liberalisation of the gas market; and the implications, if any, of this for Ireland. [1271/98]
The main thrust of the agreement reached at EU Council of Ministers level relating to a directive concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas is to introduce competition into the natural gas industry in the form of third party access to gas networks in the European Union. Consumers of large volumes of gas will have the choice of buying their gas supplies direct from gas undertakings as at present or of buying their gas from other suppliers and having the gas transmitted through the gas network for a fee.
Provision for this form of competition has already been made in the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1995. The necessary operating and pricing rules, which will be of a detailed and complex nature, are being developed. The Act is broadly in line with the EU directive.
Provision has been made in the directive enabling member states to apply to the European Commission for temporary derogations to encourage investment in the development and extension of the gas network to areas in which no gas infrastructure has been established or has been established for less than ten years. This provision is of relevance to areas, such as the midlands and west of Ireland, which have as yet no natural gas service.
