Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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1060. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when a project (details supplied) will be progressed in view of the fact that such infrastructure would be beneficial for a town needing job creation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36784/18]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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1061. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his Department has contact with their counterparts in Northern Ireland relating to the development of a project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36785/18]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1060 and 1061 together.

The routing of gas pipelines or the connection of towns to the gas pipeline network 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.

In relation to bringing gas supply to any new town, such towns are evaluated in accordance with the criteria in the Connections Policy as approved and published by the CRU.  This means that the cost-benefit for the connection needs to be positive i.e. the expected revenues over a period of time must exceed the projected costs for the project to be viable. The Connections Policy appraises both domestic and industrial/commercial demand, and so proximity to a major pipeline and a large industrial/commercial gas load tend to be the most significant factors in town appraisals.

The last assessment of this region concluded that it is not economically viable to connect Ballyconnell, or any other areas in Co. Cavan. However, this outcome may change in the future depending on the emergence of significant new demand for gas connections in the locality. I note that the “Gas to the West” project in Northern Ireland is now well into the construction stage, as regards both the high-pressure, cross-country, pipeline and the intermediate-pressure distribution pipelines.

To address the question as to whether network extensions, where economically feasible and in line with our energy policy, could contribute to regional and rural development, 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. As advised to the information seminar organised for stakeholders on the study in January, the study was for the purpose of technical evaluation, analysis and information-gathering. It has since been completed. The results of the study will be presented to me by the consultants in the coming weeks, with a view to developing next steps to inform and feed into future policy development.