Vol. 491 No. 6
31 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she will confirm that the European Commission has no objection to the State aid aspect of the proposal for a natural gas trunk line from Dublin to Galway and south to Limerick; if Exchequer funding is to be provided in 1998 to enable the project to commence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12862/98]
A proposal to extend the natural gas transmission network to the midlands and west of Ireland, serving Trim, Mullingar, Athlone, Ballinasloe, Galway, Ennis and Shannon, was drawn up in the early months of 1997. The economics of the proposal are such that it would not satisfy BGE's investment criteria. In the circumstances BGE is not prepared to undertake the extension without the assistance of Exchequer funding of the order of £60 million. In May 1997 the then Government decided that further inquiries should be made in respect of the State aid aspect of the proposal before proceeding further with the project. The necessary formal notification of the proposal was submitted to the European Commission last September. The commission has recently indicated that it will not raise any objections to the proposal. I am having a further look at the details of the project, in consultation with BGE, having regard to the current study of gas demand to the year 2025. No provision has been made for Exchequer funding in 1998 for this project.
