Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak on this important Bill on the necessity of extending the provision of gas connections nationally. Bord Gáis is a good company under its chief executive, Mr. John Mullins. It is an essential part of our infrastructure and it has a good future. We need alternative fuel sources to oil. It is important that we explore all the options in terms of alternative energy and support the work that is ongoing in that regard. I am pleased the Bill is before the House and that there is an opportunity to contribute to the debate on how it affects us.

The Bill is intended to extend the Gas Acts 1976 to 2002, and to use capital to develop an energy company, which will provide gas network services and the procurement and supply of natural gas and electricity, gas transmission and distribution network, including conventional generation, and renewables, investment in gas storage for security of supply, and development of the electricity supply business.

The oil price rise in the past year has had a significant effect on many businesses throughout the country. The escalating cost of electricity was brought home to me in particular following the wet summer, which resulted in the need to dry grain after the terrible harvest. The cost of energy required to dry the grain affected co-operatives and private merchants. We cannot sustain high energy costs. We must bring the gas that is off our shores to land. I cannot understand why people object to the work of Shell in bringing natural gas to land. Perhaps the matter was not handled properly but the natural gas we have in abundance off our shores must be made available to us.

It is important that Bord Gáis would make Tipperary town a priority for connection to gas in 2009. The nearest lines to Tipperary town are the Limerick line, which is located at Ballylanders, and the Cashel gas line, which will be completed in the next few months. I have had many representations from large employers in the area indicating that the increased cost of fuel, as well as EPA directives about heavy oil usage, mean that switching to natural gas is a priority for them. I refer to creameries and private merchants among other employers. The connection of a gas line to Tipperary would ensure that such people could can stay in business and that would guarantee that jobs would stay in the town. We are experiencing a time of recession, and nobody has the answer as to when it will end.

What we, as public representatives, have to do is highlight what will improve our communities. We must examine what will make our country better for people, what will make young people stay on the land in a time of depression, what will nourish and sustain them in the coming years and what will prove to be a far-sighted and worthwhile investment in Ireland's future. It is most important that we make a worthwhile investment in the Ireland of the future. From time to time we debate in the Dáil about what we should do. When we invest in the future we are doing something that is worthwhile for the generations to come.

Small and medium-sized business are struggling beyond belief at present. Every Deputy in this House can see that in the course of his or her week's work. One of the best things that we can do for the future is to provide sustainable, reliable energy resources in which employers can have faith and that will provide them with their requirements. By giving people a direct connection to gas, we are preserving manufacturing in Ireland in the future, by providing a reasonable, clean fuel directly, and one which is much cheaper than oil and also complies with EPA directives.

I cannot stress sufficiently how valuable it is for Ireland to have as many fuel options as possible. Extending the gas supply across the country must be a priority, as it would give people options about the fuel choice in their homes, thereby increasing fuel efficiency, while creating competition in the market and, accordingly, making fuel costs lower. That would mean there is a fuel available to compete with oil, the cost of which is exceptionally high at present, which would help both industry and individual households to save money in both the short term and the long term.

Having a gas line to supply both individuals and businesses would be a great achievement for Tipperary town. It would also serve to attract further investment to the area, as many overseas companies consider a gas line is essential infrastructure in the same way as roads or broadband. Tipperary will be considered in the coming months as one of the towns coming under phase 3 for connection in 2009. I have the support of businesses, home owners, and the chamber of commerce in the area for that move. With increased oil prices and instability in the oil market it would be a positive development to have an alternative fuel source directly in Ireland and in Tipperary. While the investment is large, it is of vital importance that we make it because in order to save money on energy costs in the long run, we must put the best technology in place. We need an electricity and energy grid that works in tandem with all the energy providers of which we can avail, and gas is only one of those. While we cannot do so through this Bill, we need to create an energy grid that can utilise fully all the different energy media, thereby lowering the cost of resources and making us as independent and competitive as possible.

I referred to the considerable number of businesses around the country that are on their knees. They have failed to be competitive not because of their own activities but because of difficulties forced upon them. Jobs will be lost in many businesses. In my constituency, the small parish of Knockavilla and Donaskeigh, nor far from which the Minister has relations, has three major employers. Gerkros Heating Technology in Donaskeigh is now in financial difficulty and an examiner has been appointed in respect thereof. This company has been very much to the fore in the alternative energy industry. It has employed 60 to 70 people in a small rural area and has expanded greatly but it is now in examinership. Up the road in Dundrum, O'Dwyer Steel, which was founded by Mr. John G. O'Dwyer some 60 years ago and taken over by workers, has given protective notice to all its staff simply because it is not competitive. These companies are in a small rural parish. If we do not remain competitive, this story will resonate in every county in the country. It is vital to remain competitive. I hope every Member supports this Bill to ensure our energy sector will remain and become increasingly competitive.

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