Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputies for their contribution and for welcoming the measure. This has been an ongoing sore across the political divide for a number of years and it needed to be resolved. When Deputy Michael Smith was Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, there was much discussion, debate and research done on the issue. Part of the reason for the lack of resolution of the issue was the problem of recovering costs. There was ongoing dialogue between the Department and what is left of the company that was involved in the ownership of the mines over the years. Attempts were made to come up with a remediationprogramme that would be acceptable to everybody and to which funding would be given by the company. However, it appeared to me that if we were to depend on the company to provide a contribution, we would not get remediation that would be to the satisfaction of the local population. For that reason I decided to bring forward this proposal to the Government.

The Government remains committed to trying to recover the costs and a legal challenge is still extant. We served papers on this some time ago and it remains in place. If we can recover costs we will do so, but the chances of recovery are slim. However, we have made provision in the section to ensure that if the State spends €10.6 million, we will try to recover the costs. We have also provided for a claim on any benefits accruing from the sale of the land. We have done everything we can to ensure the taxpayer is protected, but in all honesty I do not expect too much of the €10.6 million to come from anyone other than the taxpayer.

It is intended that this section will be repealed when the minerals development Bill is enacted. We are finding our way on this to a certain extent. We are using the local authority to act as agents and if that method is successful, it will become the template for any such moves in the future and we can enshrine it in legislation. With regard to current mining operations, my constituency contains the largest lead and zinc mine in Europe and if one goes into Google earth one can see the tailing ponds before one can see the town of Navan. I have a keen interest in ensuring these problems do not arise in future. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Planning and Development Acts impose obligations on companies to ensure these difficulties do not arise in the future. This does not solve the legacy problems but I would not anticipate that with regard to any current or future mines, the taxpayer will be required to meet the cost. This is specifically a legacy issue.

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