Mr. Denis O'Sullivan:

What we are dealing with is the reality that Ireland will need a natural gas supply for the foreseeable future, out to 2050 and beyond according to all of the research I have seen. To do this in the most secure way possible and to ensure we maintain the level of security of supply we have had previously, we would argue we should have more than one supply source or point. In this regard, we see that a follow-on indigenous supply from the Corrib would be an important part of it.

In terms of liquified natural gas, I accept the 80% figure. However, this is a practical argument. The more sources of gas we have coming to the network, the more we can be confident in securing the supply of gas to our customers. If the Bill were to be passed, once the Corrib field is depleted we would be 100% dependent on the interconnector.

We argue that being solely dependent on the interconnector for our gas supply is not the most secure way.