All-Ireland gas link deal agreed

Natural Resources Minister Dermot Ahern has signed an agreement with the British government to link the Republic's national gas infrastructure with Northern Ireland.

The agreement, which was signed at a ceremony in Gormanstown, Co Meath, today, will see a new pipeline being constructed between the two jurisdictions by 2006.

This will allow gas imports to the Republic to be pumped north of the border for use in Northern Ireland.

The €308m pipeline runs almost parallel to the first gas interconnector and links Beattock in Scotland and Gormanston in Co Meath. As part of the deal, the Government has provided €12.7m towards the cost of building a gas network in the North.