Vol. 540 No. 1
186 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the discussions which are taking place between her Department and the Northern Executive in relation to having gas brought from Belfast to Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19909/01]
As the Deputy knows, the Government has decided that the gas network is to be extended to the North West. Bord Gáis Éireann, BGÉ, has commissioned a report on the commercial viability of extending the gas network to the north-west, including Donegal. The report found that none of the possible route options would be a commercial proposition and that assistance would be required to offset the shortfall.
BGÉ and Questar have made an application to the Northern Ireland authorities for the construction of two pipelines – one from Belfast to Derry and another from Gormanston to Belfast.
The Belfast-Derry pipeline opens up the possibility of extending the pipeline into Donegal. Although the report commissioned by BGÉ concluded that such an extension would not be commercially viable, my Department and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland, along with the respective Finance Departments, are examining the potential for synergy among the various options for network extensions, including cross-border pipelines. I wish to inform the Deputy that the issue is being treated as a priority both here and in Northern Ireland.
