We are now moving into the time nominated for priority questions and, as the first question was tabled by Deputy Bruton, I will allow him to speak. I wish to advise other Deputies that they will not be entitled to ask any supplementary questions on priority questions.

Would the Minister not agree that experience has shown that in practice the pressures of day to day management in gas companies has resulted in safety standards falling and does this not indicate a need for an agency such as the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards to take over the task of overseeing the safety conduct of the gas companies generally in regard to leaks and so on?

The standards committee I referred to and who are drafting Irish standards and codes of practice are under the chairmanship of the IIRS. It will be the responsibility of gas utilities generally to operate those standards as laid down by this committee. My Department also have an involvement with the committee. For this reason I do not see the need for a further plethora of agencies. Proper management of the Dublin Gas Company and of the other gas utilities would be far more desirable.

The difficulty with Dublin Gas is that it was a political football for the last number of years while ideological rows took place within a previous administration as to whether it should be left within the private sector or nationalised. While these rows went on within the previous administration the management and control within the company deteriorated to such a stage that a receiver had to be appointed eventually. This Government have come to grips with the situation and Bord Gáis have completed their bid, in accordance with our direction. We want to see the Dublin Gas Company put on a sound footing with particular emphasis on the highest priority of the safe, secure and effective operation of this company. I am sure that this will happen when the company are put on a proper management structure as opposed to being in receivership.

Did the Minister not admit in the course of his reply that there are no records of gas leaks which occur under the various gas companies serving the public? Surely the standards committee cannot adequately monitor the activities of gas companies if such records are not furnished to them.

With regard to the question of safety installations, under section 24 of the Gaswork Clauses Act, 1847, gas undertakings are responsible at law for the safety of their installations. The Minister for Energy has no statutory responsibility: the law simply provides for penalties for damages caused by defects in installations. Case law indicates that gas companies are bound to keep up such reasonable inspections of their mains and pipes as would enable them to detect when there is such an escape of gas by fracture or imperfection of pipes as may lead to an explosion.

This law did not prevent the accident in question happening. Does the Minister not recognise the need for a body such as the IIRS to have the power to independently record progress being made by the gas companies in putting safety standards into practice?

The unfortunate tragedy at Raglan House and the incident of Dolphin House occurred for reasons which have been spelt out in the Cremer and Warner report. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Cremer and Warner organisation for the detailed and unbiased way in which they investigated and reported on these incidents. They made specific recommendations to the Government, to the developers, to the corporation and to the gas company as to the measures which should be put in place to ensure that so far as was humanly possible such incidents would never occur in future. The Government responded to that report more speedily than has been the case of any other report I know of to have come before Government. We have acted on their recommendations and we will have to wait to see what happens as a result of these actions.

We have taken also the initiative with regard to putting Dublin Gas on a proper management footing. The Government acted speedily in relation to this compared with the foot dragging which was carried on by the previous administration.

We have to move on to Question No 38.