James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I wish to share five minutes of my time with Deputy Deenihan.

This Bill, which amends existing legislation, will increase Bord Gáis Éireann's borrowing limit to €3 billion from €1.7 billion and allow the company to fund its expansion plans. The natural gas distributor and supplier is expected to reach its current borrowing limit early in 2009 and requires further cash to fund a five year capital spending programme, which will ultimately alter its profile.

Since 2002 Bord Gáis Éireann's remit has been the expansion of the gas transmission and distribution network nationwide. For most parts of the country, this has held true. Unfortunately, however, Fianna Fáil cronyism intervened some years ago in respect of my constituency, Longford-Westmeath, and we are not holding our breath in respect of a proposed phase 3 link-up. I wish to place on the record of the House the fact that Longford-Westmeath has been shamefully disregarded in respect of the gas expansion scheme and has, to the detriment of its economic development, suffered from protracted Government neglect.

In 2002, the now Taoiseach intervened in the proposals and despite the existence of a firm commitment and a system designed for the purpose, the pipeline did not come through the Longford-Edgeworthstown- Mullingar region as promised. Instead, it was quietly and mysteriously diverted to Clara, County Offaly — the Taoiseach's homeland — among other areas.

In 2006, Bord Gáis, as directed by the Commission for Energy Regulator, CER, implemented a new gas connections policy to determine the economic viability of connecting towns to the gas network, either on their own or as a part of a regional group. Longford, Edgeworthstown and Mullingar would have fitted the bill in this regard. Longford is now under consideration for the final phase — phase 3. It has again been place on the hind tit by this Fianna Fáil Government, which has brought such devastation to our county in recent years under the watch of Deputy Kelly.

As early as 2002 there was considerable anger among public representatives, those in the business community and members of the public following confirmation that neither the town nor the county would be connected to the natural gas network in the immediate future. This blow to the economic well-being of the region came in the wake of years of lobbying to bring natural gas to Longford, in the interests of local people and to encourage inward investment. Despite promises and the fact that the system had been designed to accommodate a spur from the planned Galway ring main, we were disappointed.

At that time, a Bord Gáis statement said detailed engineering and technical evaluation of Longford town was ongoing and, pending an economic viability study, the area would receive a gas supply by the beginning of 2004. That deadline passed almost five years ago, which is extremely disappointing. The people of Longford are still waiting to be connected to the national gas network. The news of the sell-out on this particular commitment was broken to the Longford Chamber of Commerce by, of all people, the then Minister for Public Enterprise, Deputy O'Rourke, who as usual failed to deliver for the people of the midlands. Nonetheless, she managed to bring home the bacon to Athlone. There are no prizes for guessing from where Deputy O'Rourke comes.

The spur to which I refer would have been a huge boost to Longford-Westmeath which is part of the under-funded BMW region. During the period in question, the cost to businesses of using gas was 25% lower than that which applied in respect of other forms of energy. The BMW region and, particularly in this case, Longford-Westmeath were placed at a considerable disadvantage. Contrary to expectations in 2002, Mullingar was also left out of the loop. The only provision made was the putting in place of a spur to Athlone.

The ill feeling people in Longford and Mullingar experienced almost seven years ago in respect of this issue has not abated. In light of the current economic climate, we are experiencing even greater disadvantages as a result of the failure to run a spur into the county. The cost of bringing natural gas to Longford — which is only 25 miles from Athlone — in 2002 would have been €16 million. The failure to do so shows that someone was extremely shortsighted at the time.

As a result of what happened in my constituency, where stand Government plans for regional development? Not only has County Longford failed to obtain a supply of natural gas, it was also omitted from the national spatial strategy and recently suffered the loss of Connolly Barracks in Longford town, the court service in Granard and Cardinal Health, which was supposed to bring 1,300 jobs to the county. A number of small businesses have gone to the wall during the term of office of this Fianna Fáil Government.

The latest commitment to be given is that Longford is under consideration for phase 3 connection, with a report on the matter due in January 2009. In light of the fact that phase 2B of Longford-Westmeath General Hospital has been promised for the past 12 years — some €57 million was ring-fenced in respect of this project in the run-up to the 2002 general election but it has not been progressed — I have particular suspicions about the phased system. As we have seen in respect of the hospital to which I refer, Government policy is now to divide phases into sub-phases, thereby delaying completion to a ludicrous degree. Promises are cheap and, as everyone is aware, under this Government, delivery is a moveable feast.

The numbers on the live register are rising. In Longford alone, there has been a 47% increase in unemployment during the past 12 months. Businesses in the midlands have been particularly hard hit by recent events and require every possible advantage to survive. The necessary incentives must be put in place to encourage inward investment into the area. Bord Gáis Éireann, under the provision of extended borrowing power granted by this Bill, intends expanding its business to become a dual electricity and gas supplier to private consumers and businesses and will, through these developments, compete with other companies such as the ESB and Scottish Southern. Also, we are told, it intends to invest heavily in renewable energy projects.

The Bord Gáis strategy is, according to the Minister, in line with the three pillars of energy policy, namely, security of supply, competitiveness and environmental sustainability, an area of particular concern to me. I welcome any initiative that will increase our environmental sustainability profile. The decision to facilitate a further 3,900 MW of renewable power to the national grid by 2020 will help to ensure that Ireland meets the recently announced renewable target of 40% of electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2020. There are currently 1,300 MW of renewable power in the system. The total installed capacity from diverse power sources currently stands at 7,800 MW and the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, has described the effort towards renewable energy as a positive and ambitious strategy that will lead to a reduction in Ireland's reliance on fossil fuels for power generation.

The Gate 3 connection initiative is a commitment to the development of renewable energy that will facilitate the tackling of climate change in Ireland, which to date has not made the required progress under the current Government and which has, by and large, ignored its commitments to the Kyoto targets. We must, of course, not forget to highlight the increasing cost of gas for domestic and business users, the cost of which rose by 21.3% for domestic use, and that business tariffs will increase by up to 27.1% for heavy users, as outlined by Bord Gáis a few months ago with further increases due in January. It appears Bord Gáis is being granted a dual mandate of funding increases, in terms of increased loan capacity and increased charges, at the expense of the consumer.

Looking at the broader picture of power provision, particularly in terms of sustainability, progress is being made on a countrywide basis but this could, unfortunately, be a case of too little to late. Such green initiatives from the wilting Green Party is progress. Natural gas provision for Longford-Westmeath remains an extremely contentious issue which could now, more than ever, given the current economic climate, decide the viability of Longford-Westmeath and is a matter requiring urgent resolve.

I plead with the Minister, on behalf of my constituents in Longford-Westmeath, to ensure this spur is expedited as quickly as possible. What is happening under the current Fianna Fáil-led Government is detrimental to the people of Longford. I have been contacted by more young people in the past three to four months in regard to their obtaining visas to get out of the area owing to a lack of job opportunities in the midlands, which is shameful and disgraceful. The Taoiseach, Deputy Brian Cowen, on his election as Leader of the Fianna Fáil Party was seen as the white dove of hope for the midlands. However, this is no longer the case in the counties of Longford-Westmeath, Laois or Offaly. People feel completely let down by him and the manner in which he is running the affairs of this State.

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