Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As Deputy James Lawless said, Fianna Fáil will be supporting this Bill. The economic value of the mining industry to Ireland is very important. In 2012 the value of mining to this country was €810 million and we had more than 1,300 people employed full-time in the industry. All those were employed outside Dublin which adds greatly to the importance of the industry. My own constituency, Tipperary, has had the pluses and the minuses of the way mining has been regulated. Lisheen mine, which was the largest zinc mine in operation in Europe for a number of years and is just a couple of miles outside my own town of Thurles, closed in the last two years. The way the closure was carried out and the way the mine was left was absolutely exemplary. They invested greatly in the local community and in local infrastructure, and are still endeavouring to get other potential investors onto the site to create employment. There are plans in place to create alternative industry on the site that Lisheen has vacated.

We had the opposite with Silvermines. As Deputy James Lawless indicated, planning regulations were not as stringent. We have a tailings pond in Silvermines, which still has not been resolved to the satisfaction of residents in the area. It has caused enormous difficulties for years with dust being blown off the tailings pond causing human health problems and also problems for agricultural practices in the area. Private individuals were allowed to buy the tailings pond. The State has spent enormous amounts of money on remedial work on that tailings pond site in Silvermines and it still does not have ownership of the site. This is something that I have brought up with the Minister's Department. While the State has spent up to €8 million on that tailings pond, we still do not own it. Damage is now being done to the tailings pond again by the farming practices being carried out. The State spent money on it and much of the good will be undone. I tabled a few parliamentary questions on this and I was told that the purchase of that site is under negotiation by the Department. I just cannot understand why a compulsory purchase order is not put in place so that all the money that was spent there will not be wasted. This issue needs to be resolved. It is has been a thorn in the side of people in that locality for many years and I hope it will be resolved. It goes to show why a Bill like this is so important to ensure that in the future, it will be like Lisheen, that there will be a good taste left in the mouth when a mine closes and that the community and the environment can return to normal.

As Deputy Jams Lawless said, I would like to raise the issue of dolomite limestone. I would like this to be taken up on Committee Stage. I have a presentation that I will raise on Committee Stage. I think there is a very good argument being made that it should be outside the provisions of the Bill. As it stands, it has been discriminated against. To describe it as a mineral is probably stretching the definition. This needs to be looked at. I think it would be common sense to leave it outside the realms of this legislation. It would be of benefit for the people who are quarrying that limestone and it would make them competitive with those in other jurisdictions. To have it under this regulation would add significant cost to the production of dolomite limestone. I would appreciate if the Minister would give consideration to leaving it outside the regulation of this Bill. It would be a welcome development.

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