The completion of the Corrib gas pipeline and the award of future offshore drilling licenses are important for Ireland’s future, Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte has said.

Mr Rabbitte said the information available on the probability of future gas finds was “very encouraging”.

He was speaking ahead of an Energy Ireland conference in Dublin today, at which he will outline the applications received from oil and gas exploration companies interested in Ireland’s Atlantic coast.

The Atlantic coastline had received 15 applications, the biggest number on record, Mr Rabbitte told RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme.

Ireland would benefit from the award of licenses because the gas market was the “essential feedstock for electricity generation” and the security of supply was a major concern, he said.

The Minister also said he would like to see the offshore gas pipeline in Corrib completed during his tenure to improve the security of gas supply.

“The Corrib field has the capacity, at peak, to service over 60 per cent of our natural gas requirements. That’s how significant it is in terms of a strategic interest,” he said.

Mr Rabbitte said that most people concerned about safety in the Corrib project acknowledged that everything possible had been done to improve safety.

He said the protests had “unfortunately” passed to other groups. “It’s no longer ‘Shell to Sea’, it’s ‘Shell out of Ireland’. And that’s not in Ireland’s national interest.”

The Minster said the only way to drive prices down was to encourage competition and guarantee the security of the gas supply by bringing new sources on stream.

“Because we import and are so heavily reliant on the importation of fossil fuels, spot prices on the international markets for gas, in particular, determine prices here. And they have been trending up, seriously, in recent months.”

The matter of fixing prices for consumers was a matter for the regulator, he added.