Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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502. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to further develop the natural gas distribution and transmission networks in the north west region; the consultation that has been conducted on these plans to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5376/18]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I have stated in reply to previous Questions the factual position in relation to the routing of gas pipelines or the connection of towns to the gas pipeline network. These are matters for Gas Networks Ireland, a commercial State-sponsored body under the aegis of the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), the statutorily independent energy regulator, which conducts consultations on its regulatory decisions.  

While I have no statutory function in relation to these matters I have, however, also stated that, in my view, the possibility of whether network extensions should, where economically feasible and in line with our energy policy goals in the White Paper, provide for future connections in order to contribute to regional and rural development needs to be addressed.  My long-standing position on the gas network is that it should be developed generally in rural Ireland to provide natural gas to as many areas as possible.

Accordingly, I commissioned a study last year on the wider costs and benefits of gas network extensions, to include possible climate and decarbonisation aspects, as well as regional and rural development benefits. My Department appointed external consultants to undertake this work last October and they presented the methodology of the study at an information seminar on the study on 15 January. The study will be completed by the end of February and I will consider the findings at that stage.