Gas supply should be extended to Cavan Town

Currently the county town is one of the few towns in Cavan which doesn't have a gas supply. Kingscourt, Bailieborough, Mullagh, Virginia and Cootehill are all connected to supply, and Cavan/Monaghan Deputy Brendan Smith insists that it is time that this shortfall in the largest town in the county is addressed by the minister.

The Fianna Fáil TD told The Anglo-Celt that energy costs are a substantial burden on business and enterprise and every effort must be made to minimise such costs. He added that with Brexit looming and businesses, particularly in the border region, needing to remain as competitive as possible, that it is essential that towns in the border region should have access to an energy supply that is competitive from a cost point of view.

The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Denis Naughten, T.D., in his reply to Deputy Brendan Smith in Dáil Éireann stated that his Department is preparing to commission research and have a report by year end into the potential role that natural gas could play in supporting rural centres. Minister Naughten further added that in the meantime he is interested in whether ways can be identified to facilitate additional connections to the network contributing to rural development, without additional costs, for all gas consumers.

In his reply to Deputy Smith, Minister Naughten said: “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, and against the backdrop of the energy policy White Paper, my Department is preparing to commission research and to have a report by year-end into the potential role that natural gas could play in supporting rural centres.

'In the meantime, I am interested in whether ways can be identified to facilitate additional connections to the network contributing to rural development, without additional costs for all gas consumers”, concluded Minister Naughten.