Fahey to press for gas supplies to north-west

The Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources has reiterated that towns in the west will benefit from the Corrib field gas find. He has said he will pursue the issue of gas supplies to the northwest.

Mr Fahey said yesterday he had received a "positive response" from the Bord Gais chief executive, Mr Gerry Walsh, to his request that natural gas be made available to towns close to the proposed £100 million pipeline between Pollatomish, Co Mayo, and Craughwell, Co Mayo.

Towns such as Castlebar, Claremorris, Tuam and Athenry would receive a supply, he said.

The Dublin-Galway ring-main would also bring natural gas to 150,000 homes in Galway city and Oranmore, and facilitate gas-powered electricity generation in Connacht, the Minister said.

As "the region's representative in Government", the Minister said he would pursue the building of a further pipeline from Pollatomish via Ballina to Sligo, at an estimated cost of £40 million, to service towns in north Connacht as "the first phase" of bringing a gas supply to the whole north-west.

However, the Council for the West chairwoman, Ms Marian Harkin, has described the Minister's statement as "aspirational". Last week, a Council for the West seminar in Knock, Co Mayo, was told that Bord Gais had ruled out a pipeline to the north-west linked to the Corrib find. Ms Harkin said the council wanted to see balanced development within regions, not just between regions. She added it was obvious from the Bord Gais presentation at the seminar that its bottom line was commercial viability and its main aim was to have the gas piped to Dublin and Cork by 2002.