Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 46:

In page 106, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following:

“PART 8

ARTICLE 3.3 OF THE MINAMATA CONVENTION ON MERCURY DONE AT GENEVA ON 19 JANUARY 2013

Definitions  Part 8

224.In this Part—

“mercury” means elemental mercury (Hg(0), CAS No. 7439-97-6) and includes mixtures of mercury with other substances, including alloys of mercury, with a mercury concentration of at least 95 per cent by weight;

“mercury-added product” means a product or product component that contains mercury or a mercury compound that was intentionally added;

“mercury compounds” means mercury (I) chloride (known also as calomel), mercury (II) oxide, mercury (II) sulphate, mercury (II) nitrate, cinnabar and mercury sulphide;

“primary mercury mining” means mining in which the principal material sought is mercury.”.

I wish to begin by thanking Deputies for agreeing to yesterday's motion that allowed debate of these amendments to proceed. Deputies Stanley and Lawless spoke on it. I wish to offer my apologises because I was unable to be there. The Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, moved that motion.

In essence these amendments propose a ban on primary mercury mining, thus facilitating Ireland's ratification of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The convention, agreed and adopted in 2013, is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. The convention focuses on a global and ubiquitous metal that, while naturally occurring, has broad uses in everyday objects and is released to the atmosphere, soil and water from a variety of sources.

Controlling the human sources of releases of mercury throughout its lifecycle has been a key factor in shaping the provisions under the convention. The provisions of the Minamata convention include: a ban on new primary mercury mines; the phasing-out of existing ones; the phase-out and phase-down of mercury use in a number of products and processes; control measures on emissions to air and on releases to land and water; and the regulation of the informal sector of small-scale gold mining. The convention also addresses interim storage of mercury and its disposal once it becomes waste, sites contaminated by mercury as well as broader health issues. Ireland officially signed the convention in October 2013 at the diplomatic conference in Kumamoto, Japan.

The purpose of these amendments is to insert a new Part 8 that will effect a ban on primary mercury mining in Irish law. This amounts to implementing one of a number of actions necessary to allow Ireland to ratify the convention in 2017.

The new section 224 provides definitions for a number of terms used throughout this new Part 8, such as "mercury", "mercury compound" and "primary mercury mining", which is defined as mining in which the principal material sought is mercury. These terms reflect what is proposed for in the convention.

Section 226 provides that the Minister may not grant a licence in respect of prospecting for mercury or for undertaking primary mercury mining. Moreover, it precludes the Minister from undertaking such activities.

Section 225 makes it clear that the holder of a prospecting or retention licence will continue to be allowed to search for traces of mercury where the purpose of such exploration is to assist in the identification of other minerals. In addition, the use of mercury or mercury compounds for laboratory scale research continues to be permitted.

Section 227 proposes that a person who prospects for mercury commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a class A fine, currently up to €5,000, or on indictment to a fine not exceeding €250,000.

Where the Minister authorises a person to mine any minerals or ores, such authorisation shall not permit extraction of mercury as a primary product or extraction of ores of mercury for the purposes of production of primary mercury.

Extraction of trace quantities of mercury in the course of extraction of other minerals, ores or compounds will continue to be permissible provided the purpose of the extraction is not to produce mercury in metal or concentrate for sale or export. Such traces would be regarded as contaminants to be removed during the processing of the ore.

Section 228 proposes that a person who carries out primary mercury mining commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a class A fine or on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €250,000.

The proposed amendment to the Long Title is intended to reflect that the Bill will include provisions in respect of the Minamata convention.