Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter, the reply to which I am making on behalf of the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. I understand the context in which the Deputy has raised this matter and I assume he is aware of the unfortunate incident in 2003 at Glendoher Close, Rathfarnham. All the members of the family involved were injured in an explosion. The family house exploded as a result of a leak of gas from a cast iron main which had fractured in the footpath outside and gas entered the house underground.

Following that incident, Bord Gáis accelerated its programme of replacement of cast iron mains. The circumstances of that incident were fully investigated at the time by the Commission for Energy Regulation. The report published by the commission recommended that Bord Gáis put in place a parallel programme of cast iron mains replacement in areas where the ground was liable to subsidence. BGE had been engaged in systematically replacing the older networks over the past 17 years. Two thirds of the older networks have been replaced with modern polyethylene pipes. Prior to the incident, it had been intended to replace the remainder of the system over a ten to 15 year period. A full audit of these mains was carried out by BGE and the replacement programme has been accelerated and is being carried out on a reducing risk basis.

During 2004, BGE developed a plan in conjunction with the CER to renew the final third of the system over the next five years. A total of 112 km of cast iron main was replaced in 2004. BGE proposes to renew approximately 200 km of cast iron main during 2005, with all remaining cast iron pipes due for renewal by end 2009. Arising from the audit of pipe work and risk analysis, the replacement programme is scheduled on a reducing risk basis whereby the highest category of risk is dealt with first and it is due to be fully completed by the end of 2009.

All the activities of distribution system operators are licensed and supervised by the Commission for Energy Regulation. This ensures that appropriate standards are implemented and adhered to, including standards for the physical durability of the system. These standards are determined by the National Standards Authority of Ireland through its gas technical standards committee. BGE is required under its licence conditions to produce a code of operations on all aspects of safe design, construction and operation of the network.

On the issue of gas safety generally, legislative proposals to ensure the safety of the public, including the regulation of natural gas installers were published for consultation last November. These proposals will give the commission responsibility to regulate and promote safety and make it illegal for a person who is not a registered gas installer to work on a natural gas fitting. While a responsibility rests also with the homeowner to ensure he or she only engages reputable qualified installers to undertake work on domestic installations, the new legislation, when enacted, will, by registering and controlling the qualifications of installers, make it easier for a member of the public to identify a qualified person. It is hoped to complete the consultation process shortly with a view to having the proposed legislation enacted before the summer.

The legislative proposals were published in November 2004 together with the CER's vision for a future safety framework. The closing date for receipt of written submissions was 7 January 2005 and a number of submissions has been received from interested parties. These submissions are being examined and discussions are taking place with a number of these parties with a view to clarifying the issues raised. Officials will meet BGE in this context later. It is hoped the proposed legislation as part of an energy miscellaneous provisions Bill will be enacted before the summer but this will be heavily dependent on availability of resources in the Attorney General's office and the Oireachtas schedule.

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