§ Rev Ian Paisleyasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, as the average price of house coal in Liverpool is at least £7 per ton less than in Belfast, what steps he proposes to take to reduce coal prices in Northern Ireland to the Great Britain port level so that the people of Northern Ireland will be treated in the same way as the rest of the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. ConcannonDifferences in coal prices throughout the United Kingdom broadly reflect transport charges from the pits and it is consistent with this pattern that coal prices in Belfast are higher than those in Liverpool. Coal prices in South London and Dover are about the same as in Belfast, while those in the South-West of England are higher. I am nevertheless examining the whole question of energy pricing in Northern Ireland as part of my consideration of the problems facing the gas industry.