§ 14. Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he is planning any change of policy regarding the use of other fuels in place of coal in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. ConcannonNo, Sir.
§ Mr. SkinnerWill my right hon. Friend confirm that the Northern Ireland coal mine is one of the best, per head of population, in the whole of the United Kingdom, and one of the few things that unite the Protestants and Catholics, in that coal is burnt right across the political divide? Will my right hon. Friend also confirm that the gas pipeline that would be necessary if gas were brought in—and it seems to me that discussions are taking place at certain levels—would cost millions of pounds? It is a shortsighted policy when probably there are only 20 years' reserves of gas compared with centuries of coal availability.
§ Mr. ConcannonI know that my hon. Friend's geographical knowledge of the coal industry is very wide, but on my travels around Northern Ireland—and I have been there some while—I have not yet seen a pithead, though I keep looking for one. There is under consideration a study of the case for gas in Northern Ireland, which has no link with North Sea gas. That is one of the problems over there. That study has been put to me. The coal that we use in Northern Ireland is only about 1 per cent. of the total coal production in Great Britain. Last year there was an increase of over 13 per cent. in the coal take in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. McCuskerWill the Minister tell his hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) that those who are trying to bring natural gas to Northern Ireland are simply trying to give a cheaper fuel to the hard pressed, under-privileged people of Northern Ireland who are currently paying three times as much for their gas as are other parts of Great Britain, which have recently been told that the price of gas will remain static for the next 14 months?
§ Mr. ConcannonHad notice been taken of people like my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner), my right hon. Friend and myself 10 years ago I do not think that we would be in the situation that we are today with regard to the coal industry. In Northern Ireland terms it is the complete imbalance of fuel which is responsible for the situation as it is today.
§ Mr. Albert RobertsWill my right hon. Friend bear in mind that in the next two or three years coal may well be cheaper than gas, taking capital expenditure into consideration? In view of the increasing amount of production at present, and the tremendous amount of stocks of coal that we possess, it may well be a more economic proposition to have coal transported to Northern Ireland rather than natural gas.
§ Mr. ConcannonI think that this is the first time in history that we have had a couple of old colliers looking after Northern Ireland. What has been said will be taken into consideration.