asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will now submit an application to the European Economic Community to determine the amount of grant that would be received for the construction of a natural gas pipeline to Northern Ireland.

No. The Government are already aware that an EEC grant of up to 40 per cent. of the capital cost might be available towards a viable project, but this does not change the Government's conclusion, reached last July, that natural gas could not be supplied on a viable basis and that the continuing cost to the taxpayer could not be justified.