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

I am very pleased to present the Minerals Development Bill 2015 for the consideration of the House. The Bill was initiated in the Seanad and has passed all Stages in that House. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, my predecessor in this role, for his stewardship of the Bill through the Seanad.

Baineann cumas láidir le geolaíocht ilghnéitheach na hÉireann nuair a aimsítear fosaithe breise barainneacha mianraí. Tá córas rialacháin ann do gach céim ó thaiscéalaíocht go forbairt mianraí, san áireamh tá pleanáil le haghaidh dúnadh agus feabhsú mianach. Tá sé seo an-tábhachtach agus tugann sé muinín san earnáil dom. Déantar athchóiriú agus uasdátú ar an gcód sin sa reachtaíocht nua seo.

The Bill will provide a modem regulatory regime for exploration and development of minerals, whether in State or private ownership. In doing so, it will repeal a suite of Acts dating from the 1940s and replace them with fit-for-purpose, streamlined legislation.

Before providing Members with the specific objectives of the Bill and an overview of the various elements I will set out some background to the minerals sector in Ireland and the existing legislation regulating it. Minerals exploration and development is currently regulated through the Minerals Development Acts 1940 to 1999. The exploration for economic deposits of minerals is carried out under prospecting licences administered by my Department. The mining of any such deposit requires a State mining lease in the case of State minerals or a State mining licence for privately-owned minerals, which is also administered by my Department. Exploration and mining are undertaken by private companies, although the Bill empowers the State to undertake prospecting.

Ireland is one of the leading zinc and lead mining countries in the world and continues to attract high levels of exploration interest and investment. In 2013, a report was produced by independent economic consultants Indecon Limited. The consultants assessed the contribution of the minerals sector to the Irish economy. Focussing on the year 2012, when there were still three operating zinc and lead mines - there is one now - the consultants made a number of key findings. For zinc metal in concentrate, Ireland was ranked Europe's largest producer and the tenth largest in the world. For lead metal in concentrate in the same year, Ireland was ranked Europe's third largest producer and 12th in the world. In 2012, the direct output value of mining in Ireland amounted to €426 million. Exploration and mining companies contributed a total of €56 million in taxes to the Exchequer. The State also benefitted from payments made by mining and prospecting licence holders in the form of royalties, licence fees and payments - this amounted to €9 million - as well as from indirect taxes and revenues. Exploration and mining activity supported over 1,300 jobs directly during the same period, with a further 1,900 supported indirectly. Notably, the jobs are in different parts of the country, as mining is a regional activity. This demonstrates a broad contribution to the economy, estimated at over €800 million when the direct and indirect impacts of the wages and salaries of workers as well as the exploration expenditure of the companies are taken into account. Coupled with the support of over 3,000 jobs that are provided on a broad regional basis, this clearly shows the importance of the sector and its vital economic contribution.

Given the significance of the industry, it is important to have in place a legislative framework that continues to attract investment. Therefore, the development of a single national system for regulating mineral exploration and clarity on the ownership of mineral rights are vital.

Currently, the minerals industry is regulated by the Minerals Development Acts comprising five statutes: the Minerals Development Act 1940; Part III of the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act 1960; the Minerals Development Act 1979; the Minerals Development Act 1995; and the Minerals Development Act 1999. These Acts incorporated provision for regulating minerals prospecting and development, a statutory vesting of the exclusive right to work minerals in the Minister, subject to the payment of compensation; acquisition of other rights necessary for efficient development of minerals, subject to payment of compensation and payment to the State of rents and royalties from the extraction of minerals.

The Bill will replace that suite of legislation, which dates back as far as 1940, with modem streamlined statutory provisions. The existing legislation is extensive and hence we now have what I believe to be a comprehensive Bill, with a total of 251 sections.

I am keen to make some comments on the scope of the Bill to be clear on what it does and does not cover. First, the minerals referred to in the Bill do not include water, stone, sand, gravel, clay, turf, peat or topsoil. Second, the Bill does not cover oil and gas, as the exploration and development of petroleum are regulated under separate legislation. Therefore, issues such as hydraulic fracturing or fracking are outside the scope of this Bill. In fact, hydraulic fracturing is not a technique used either in prospecting or mining for minerals. Third, Deputies should be aware that in respect of environmental regulation of mining, the Environmental Protection Agency and local authorities play a key role. Nevertheless, the Bill does take appropriate account of environmental matters, in particular, the need to address obligations under the Aarhus Convention, which has been ratified by Ireland. The Aarhus Convention concerns access to information on the environment, public participation in environmental decision making and access to justice in that context. The implications of the convention for exploration and mining were carefully considered in close consultation with the Attorney General's office and the provisions have been drafted accordingly. Finally, the Bill covers the mining of minerals. This refers to the extraction, or the development, of mineral deposits. In the Bill this activity is also referred to as "working".

The proposed legislation is built around a number of key objectives. The first is to produce a modern regulatory regime for exploration and development of State minerals. The second is to provide for regulating, in accordance with the principles of social justice, the exercise of private rights over minerals and ancillary rights, while reconciling their exercise with the exigencies of the common good. The third is to provide for the continued vesting in the Minister the exclusive right of working, selling or otherwise disposing of private minerals that are not in the course of development, subject to payment of fair compensation. The fourth is to provide for preparation and implementation of rehabilitation plans for abandoned mine sites.

In modernising the legislative code applicable to the minerals sector, a number of key changes would be introduced. These include changes in respect of the procedures for compulsory acquisition of ancillary surface rights, the basis for calculation of rents and royalties and the basis for payment of compensation in respect of private minerals. The Bill will provide for greater transparency and predetermination of financial terms. It will streamline the permitting process and bring other aspects of the regulation of the minerals sector into line with best practice, having due regard to the constitutional protection of property.

The Long Title of the Bill is: "An Act to make further and better provision for the development of minerals in the State and for that purpose to repeal the Minerals Company Acts 1941 to 1950 and certain provisions of the Minerals Development Acts 1940 to 1999, to make consequential amendments to other Acts, and to provide for related matters."

I will outline a summary of the main provisions. The Bill is divided into eight Parts. I will provide an overview of each Part.

Part 1 provides standard provisions, including Short Title, commencement arrangements, scope and interpretation. It provides that the Bill will apply to all minerals within the State or within designated areas of the continental shelf and that, for the purposes of the Bill, as in previous legislation, minerals do not include stone, sand, gravel or clay, turf or peat or petroleum.

Part 2 relates to prospecting. This Part addresses the administrative practice for prospecting licences from application to surrender, including public notice and consultation prior to issuing of licences. It also covers payment of compensation for damage or nuisance arising from prospecting activity. It introduces a new type of licence, known as a retention licence. This is relevant where a prospecting licenceholder has discovered a mineral resource that cannot, for the time being, be worked due to a need to address access issues, environmental concerns or other matters. This part also provides for the Minister, in assessing the public interest of an application, to take into account the economic benefits to the region, as well as the environmental impact of the proposed exploration programme. It provides for making regulations setting out conditions for a prospecting or retention licence. A new requirement covers the manner in which prior written consent will be required for boreholes, trenching and bulk sampling. Airborne geophysical surveying is a matter for the civil aviation authorities but provision is made to require prior notice of such surveys and the submission of data.

Part 3 relates to working minerals. The Minerals Development Act 1979 vested in the Minister the exclusive right to work minerals, with the exception of a small number of existing mines in operation at the time. It also provided for granting of that right to third parties under licence, subject to the payment of compensation to the mineral owners. These arrangements will be continued under the Bill. It has long been stated policy that an application for a permit to mine will only be accepted from holders of a current valid prospecting licence over the relevant area. This will now have a statutory basis. The main thrust of the changes in this area relate to eliminating the difference between State and private minerals from the development perspective, providing greater predetermination and clarity of terms, financial and non-financial. Previously, the Statute Book provided for leases to extract State minerals and licences for private minerals. Now, there will be a single instrument, to be known as a mining licence.

Part 4 relates to ancillary rights. To extract minerals safely and efficiently, it is necessary to carry out a variety of other activities. These are referred to as ancillary rights. Existing legislation provides that the holder of a State mining lease or licence is entitled to enter on the land on or under where such minerals lie and use such land in such manner as may be reasonably necessary for the working of such minerals or for any purpose incidental thereto.

This gives too broad a scope by today's standards. Current legislation also provides for compulsory acquisition of land and rights over land necessary for efficient working of minerals. The Bill will clarify rights necessary for working minerals and divide them into ancillary underground rights and ancillary surface rights for licences issued. It will also bring the compulsory acquisition procedures into line with modern best practice. I consider it necessary to have these compulsory powers in place, even though they are rarely, if ever, used.

Part 5 deals with rehabilitation. It is based on Part 9 of the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006 and deals only with orphan legacy sites. It is the responsibility of current mine operators to properly close and rehabilitate sites when activity ceases. Mine operations, through the planning process, are subject to environmental impact assessment which requires detailed closure plans with financial sureties to fund their implementation, aftercare, monitoring and maintenance. Part 5 provides that, in certain circumstances, the Minister, having consulted the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, may designate a former mine site or adjacent land as a rehabilitation area. The Minister may only designate such a site where a mine has been abandoned or where operations have permanently ceased and it is necessary for the safety of the public or animals or to address major environmental damage.

Once an area is designated as a rehabilitation area, the Minister may develop or adopt a rehabilitation plan and implement it or authorise a local authority or the Environmental Protection Agency to do so. This does not affect any obligation of former lessees or licensees who had been responsible for the mine site, owners or occupiers of sites, or any other person who may have obligations. The Minister may recover through the courts any expenditure incurred in the implementation of the plan. The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, acquire private land, either by agreement or compulsorily, for the purpose of implementing a rehabilitation plan. The Minister must undertake a public consultation process before making a rehabilitation acquisition order. If considered appropriate, the Minister may appoint a hearing officer to hold an oral hearing to evaluate objections.

Part 6 deals with the Mining Board. The Mining Board has been in existence since it was established under the Minerals Development Act 1940 and adjudicates on various issues arising under the Acts, including compensation for private mineral owners. This Part provides for the continuation of the board which consists of a chairperson and two ordinary members appointed by the Government on the recommendation of the Minister. The chairperson shall be a practising barrister or solicitor of at least ten years standing. Each ordinary member shall be a property arbitrator under the Property Values (Arbitrations and Appeals) Act 1960. The provisions relating to the board are being updated in line with current best practice. New provisions in the area of ethics are provided in line with current legislation regarding other statutory boards.

Part 7 deals with enforcement and miscellaneous matters. This Part mainly contains standard provisions, restated or updated where necessary. Penalties in respect of offences such as unlawful prospecting or working of minerals are brought up to date in line with current practice. Injunctive powers are being provided for continuing offences and in a case where the Minister might be prevented from undertaking rehabilitation work. Provision is being made for the appointment of inspectors to enforce the Bill. A requirement to notify the Minister of boreholes drilled for reasons other than prospecting or mining is a restatement of existing provisions in the 1940 Act. The vesting in respect of intellectual property rights in the Minister relating to the processing of data collected under the Minerals Development Acts and the Bill is also provided for. This Part also deals with the registration of minerals that were exempt from the statutory vesting under the 1979 Act and other miscellaneous matters.

Part 8 relates to transitional provisions, repeals and consequential amendments. It provides for various transitional arrangements, including the continuation of any licence granted under previous Acts on the terms under which it was granted until renewed under the revised legislation. Applications for prospecting licences or mining leases and licences made before enactment of the Bill will be deemed to be for licences under the Bill, unless the Minister has already given notice of his intention to grant a licence. Chapter 2 sets out the Acts which will be repealed by the Bill, while Chapter 3 lists amendments to other Acts as a consequence of the Bill.

The Schedule contains a list of substances which, for certainty, are included within the definition of minerals. The list is not exhaustive as the definition of minerals contained in section 2 describes the term as meaning all substances, including scheduled minerals. It may, therefore, allow other substances to be defined as minerals. There was a similar Schedule to the 1940 Act which has been reviewed with some additions and deletions. For example, flint and chert have been removed because experience has shown that their inclusion was not helpful. Mineral oils and natural gas have been removed because the 1960 Act provided for separate regulation of oil and gas exploration and production. Other substances added are industrial minerals that were not important in 1940 but have since gained significance such as andalusite, garnet and sepiolite.

Government approval for the publication and introduction of the Bill was given, subject to such technical or drafting amendments as may be agreed between the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment and the Attorney General. My Department has been liaising with the Attorney General's office in the interim and I propose to table a number of such amendments on Committee Stage. I also propose to table amendments to address concerns raised by Senators during the course of the debate in the Seanad, in particular in respect of the treatment in the Bill of dolomitic limestone and, separately, the sale of small tonnage or small value State minerals, as provided for in section 82 of the Bill. In addition, amendments will be proposed to give effect to certain obligations under the Minamata Convention on mercury which was signed by Ireland in 2013 and which will prohibit primary mining of mercury.

I look forward to engaging with Deputies in a positive and constructive debate on the Bill on Committee Stage. The Bill is important to improve and consolidate the legal framework underpinning the minerals sector which has been of great economic and social benefit in the past and will continue to be in the future. I am happy to commend the Bill to the House.

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