Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 340: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the difficult situation in towns like Cavan and Monaghan regarding the fact that they do not have Bord Gáis natural gas available to them; his plans to extend such pipelines to Cavan in particular at the request of companies (details supplied) who have to compete with others who have such facilities available to them elsewhere; if he has had discussions with Bord Gáis towards extensions to such towns; if he will provide additional support to towns like these in disadvantaged areas especially in the border region; and the timescale for such an extension or such an investment. [7003/08]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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I have no statutory functions with regard to the connection of towns to the gas network. The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), which is a statutory independent body, has, since 2002, been charged with all aspects of the assessment and licensing of prospective operators who wish to develop and/or operate a gas distribution system within the State, under the Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act 2002.

Acting in this capacity, the CER in 2006, approved a new network connections policy, which provided an opportunity to reconsider the feasibility of connecting certain towns to the gas network. In order for any town to be connected to the gas network, certain economic criteria need to be satisfied as a prerequisite. This is to ensure that, over a certain period, the costs of connecting the town to the network are recouped through the consumption of gas and the associated tariffs. The new policy allows for the appraisal of a new town either on its own or as part of a regional group of towns. In this context, Bord Gais Éireann (BGÉ) is carrying out a comprehensive study of towns not already connected to the national gas network.

I am advised that both the towns of Cavan and Monaghan, together with other towns in the vicinity (Castleblaney, Cootehill and Shercock), are being examined as part of phase 3 of this study, which is currently under way and is scheduled for completion near the end of this year. BGÉ's final report will outline what towns or groups of towns are economically viable for connection, within the revised connection policy criteria. BGÉ has a dedicated email address, newtowns@bge.ie, for the purpose of dealing with queries related to the connection of new towns and routinely engages with local stakeholders to allow towns under consideration to be examined in as comprehensive a manner as possible.