Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

I warmly welcome this amendment to the Title of the Bill and the new and substantive Part 8 the Minister is introducing.

I also welcome the fact the Ceann Comhairle has initiated a new procedure in respect of legislation to be taken in the House under which Opposition Deputies in particular will not be faced with a barrage of new amendments on Report Stage. I am aware, as a former member of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, that the Ceann Comhairle has a great interest in this matter. I welcome the fact it appears progress is being made in this regard because Opposition Members and even Government backbenchers did not have access to adequate resources to allow them, as with this legislation, to investigate the introduction of a major new part of a Bill. That became clear during the final hour of last week's debate when a raft of extraneous issues relating to the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006 and its impact on this Bill entered the debate. The latter occurred because we did not have access to the relevant information. I commend the Ceann Comhairle on listening to requests from Deputies, particularly on this side of the House, who were, until quite recently, poorly resourced. They will now be in a position to do their work properly on behalf of the people.

On the new Part 8, it is clear the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, has listened to the people of north Tipperary, particularly those who live near Silvermines and in the area surrounding Nenagh, and returned to the House with a programme for the future which, as Deputy Durkan stated, will be extremely valuable. I commend Senator O'Meara of north Tipperary who, with other Members of this House and the Upper House, was to the forefront in trying to progress the campaign to bring about the remediation of the Silvermines land.

The most important change the Minister has introduced is the fact that when a company which obtains a licence has extracted the natural wealth from an area, we can recover State expenditure where the remediation has not been made. When people from the Silvermines district appeared before the Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and when members of that committee, including its Chairman, Deputy O'Flynn, visited the district, we were given information and witnessed for ourselves the way the company had effectively reneged on its obligations. That was regrettable. The Department has pursued this issue relentlessly and it is heartening to finally see this legislation undergoing its passage through the Dáil. I commend the Minister in that regard.

I do not know whether we will have an opportunity to discuss the new Part 8 in detail because the Title is being changed to accommodate its inclusion in the Bill. However, I welcome the methodology the Minister will be able to use to consult stakeholders in future in respect of matters of this nature. It is a very welcome development and I commend the Civil Service and the Minister for bringing it forward.

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