Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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There is an allocation of €550,000 for the remediation of legacy mines, which are listed as Avoca silver mines and others. A feasibility study for the management and remediation of the Avoca mines site was completed in 2008. It costed two options for the long-term remediation of the mine, with capital costs of €58.5 million and €46 million, respectively. Both have recurring annual operating costs of about €1 million. Under a Government decision of 21 July 2010, the Government decided to proceed with €3 million in funding for the most urgent health and safety works and to keep the rest of the remediation plan under review. To date, in excess of €5 million has been spent on remediation and monitoring costs at the site.

The protected funding for the Avoca remediation project in 2023 will be €450,000. This funding will provide ongoing monitoring, maintenance and health and safety works at the Avoca old mines sites. In 2023, the Department also intends to begin reviewing the outstanding remediation plan from the 2008 feasibility study and to undertake an update to reflect more recent technological methods and advances in mine site remediation and update projected remediation costs since the last costs were produced in 2008. The geoscience policy division, GSPD, is progressing the receivership of Avoca mines and the registration of land with the Property Registration Authority and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor.