Natural gas escape in Mayo and Galway homes

The first reaction to the news that odourless gas was pumped into homes in Mayo and Galway must be relief that nobody was injured as a consequence. 

The gas reached the domestic system without a marker scent being applied — without it, the gas cannot be identified by consumers and a leak might have had dire consequences.

A review of procedures to establish how this happened is already under way. Hopefully it will be completed quickly and its conclusions published immediately.

It is expected that natural gas customers in Galway and Mayo who have been urged to turn off their gas supply will see normal service resume tomorrow.

Those who opposed the Ballinaboy development for so long might feel a sense of vindication but that will achieve very little.

However, their concerns cannot be dismissed as we were assured that an event like this would be impossible.

We depend on large-scale industry and this failure is an opportunity to show that we have an effective and reliable regulator who will ensure that safety standards are met.