Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

I am pleased to introduce the Gas (Amendment) Bill for the consideration of the House. The Bill proposes to increase the statutory borrowing limit of Bord Gáis Éireann from €1.7 billion to €3 billion. The enactment of this Bill will give Bord Gáis Éireann the legal ability to access funds to develop the strategic direction set out in its five-year corporate plan up to 2012 and beyond. The Bill proposes to amend section 23 of the Gas Act 1976 which provides for borrowings by Bord Gáis Éireann for capital purposes. There were no amendments to the provisions of the Bill on Report and Final Stages in Dáil Éireann.

Since its establishment in 1976, Bord Gáis Éireann has played a vital part in the growth of the economy through the development of a gas network that runs to almost 12,500 km of pipeline serving more than 600,000 customers. Bord Gáis Éireann has transformed the gas network in the past ten years through the construction of the pipeline to the west, which stretches from Dublin to Galway and down to Limerick; the South-North pipeline from Dublin to Belfast, providing security of supply of natural gas to Northern Ireland as well as supplying towns en route; the Mayo-Galway pipeline, which has facilitated the delivery of natural gas to several towns along the route in both Galway and Mayo, and which will facilitate the transportation of Corrib gas to the Irish market in due course; the north-west pipeline from Belfast to Derry, also supplying towns along the route; and the second gas interconnector with Scotland, which has secured the supply of gas to Ireland since its completion in 2002.

These projects have provided for the delivery of gas to towns in the midlands and west, including along the Mayo-Galway pipeline which was constructed to facilitate the delivery of Corrib gas to the market. They have also provided security of supply of natural gas to Ireland through the second interconnector and, through the South-North pipeline, security of supply to the island as a whole, including Northern Ireland. All these have contributed greatly to the development of the economy over the past ten years.

The Members of the House will be aware that Bord Gáis Éireann has a statutory mandate to provide a system——