Question Time: Enterprise, Trade and Investment Tuesday 06 May 2014
The prospect of gas provision in the west of Northern Ireland
was warmly welcomed in the Assembly Chamber during today’s Questions
to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Arlene Foster. The
Utility Regulator launched the competition for bringing gas to the west in
February 2014 and expects to award a licence by autumn 2014. This should bring
“a more efficient, lower carbon and potentially cheaper choice of fuel” to
consumers in the west. It is anticipated that construction work will begin in
2015 and the first customers will be connected to gas in 2016. The efforts of
the Minister in bringing gas to the west were commended by Ian McCrea who
pointed out the benefits it could have for local businesses – Dale Farm predicted
that the availability of gas could save them as much as £1m. The Minister also
revealed that domestic consumers will also be able to benefit from the new
energy source as it will be possible to retro-fit existing homes to allow them
to receive gas.
During regular Question Time the Minister also answered
questions on the tourism industry in Northern Ireland. The Minister discussed
the upcoming review of the tourism strategy and the efforts that have been made
to make the most of the tourism opportunities provided by the Giro d’Italia,
the 2015 Irish Open at Royal County Down and the production of ‘Game of
Thrones’.
During topical questions, Kieran McCarthy asked the Minister
if she had reviewed the business case for redeveloping Exploris submitted by
Ards Borough Council. While the Minister recognised the Portaferry aquarium as
“an important facility and key visitor attraction” however she views the
proposed one of capital grant of £914,000 as a problem as the Northern Ireland
Tourist Board has no capital funds available. She offered her support in every
other way but the capital funds cannot be met. Other topical questions were
asked regarding the benefits of the Giro d’Italia, Invest NI and the living
wage, and the latest update on job creation.
No comments: