Does the Minister hold out any hope of re-negotion with Britain to bring gas supplies to the North? Can he assure the House that the £6 million which has been paid by Britain already has not been given back as requested? Is the Minister aware that 1,700 householders in the Dundalk area are entirely dependent on supplies from the Dundalk Gas Company? In view of the delicate position of that firm can the Minister give an immediate assurance that the takeover by Bord Gáis will take place in the near future?

The question in relation to the cross-Border pipeline is a separate question and if the Deputy puts down a question I would be delighted to answer it. As far as the future of the Dundalk Gas Company is concerned, the Deputy can be assured of my concern, I negotiated the insurance premium of the Dundalk Gas Company with Bord Gáis Éireann and the premium was paid and the service was allowed to continue for a further 12 months. The Deputy can be assured, assuming a positive decision is reached at the meeting of the EC Regional Fund Committee on 24 November, that negotiations will take place with the Dundalk Gas Company.

I thank the Minister for dealing with the problem in regard to the insurance but can he give me an assurance that he will continue to look after it until the takeover is finalised?

The Deputy can be assured that if we are successful in our meeting with the EC Regional Fund Committee on 24 November that, as far as the domestic market is concerned, one of the main markets for Bord Gáis will be Dundalk. It is essential to keep the Dundalk network going and the Deputy can be assured of my continued interest.