Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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147. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of upgrades to the Moffat pipeline. [41116/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Irish gas network is primarily supplied by two entry points, the ‘Corrib’ entry point in County Mayo and via two interconnectors from a single source at the ‘Moffat’ entry point in Scotland.  Gas Networks Ireland's Summer Outlook 2021, which is published on its website, sets out that Corrib is expected to supply circa 31% of daily summer demand in 2021, covering the period April to October 2021, with the balance of gas demand to be met by imports from Moffat. Upgrades to the interconnector system are an operational matter for Ireland’s gas Transmission System Operator Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) and its subsidiary GNI UK.  Tariff related expenditure used to fund upgrades to this regulated asset is subject to the approval of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, Ireland’s independent energy regulator. 

The first interconnector pipeline was constructed in the early 1990s and the second interconnector was constructed in 2002.  In 2018, with the assistance EU Connecting Europe Facility funding, the interconnectors were upgraded by adding an additional 50km of onshore pipeline in Scotland, which resulted in twinned pipelines for the two interconnectors, which increased the resilience of the system.

A project is currently underway to upgrade the Beattock Compressor Station, which is located adjacent to the National Grid Moffat Compressor Station near Dumfries in Scotland and which moves gas through the onshore part of interconnector system in Scotland.  This project will further improve the resilience of the system.