Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this Bill. It is very important that we have legislation and regulations surrounding mining that are brought up to modern standards. Sinn Féin supports the progression of this Bill to enact necessary changes that reflect the modern mining industry and licensing needs.

This Bill, however, must first and foremost reflect the needs of the State and wider society. For too long it has been the modus operandiof the State to sell off the valuable natural resources of the country at bargain basement prices. Were these resources to be correctly managed and safely exploited they could be of great economic value to the State and benefit to society.

Every day we hear that the health service is struggling and that we need money to build houses to house people and to update our infrastructure. We must be mindful that the decisions we make on issues such as mining licences and royalty can have a great impact on how successful we are as a society.

We welcome the Bill overall but will be seeking to make some amendments. We have a concern over section 82 which allows the Minister to sell State-owned minerals without imposing substantial royalties to guarantee a return for the public purse. We do not want a repeat of what happened in the case of other extractions which are not covered under the Bill such as our offshore oil and gas whereby we have transferred almost all profits to private companies. We have experienced far too much privatisation in Ireland and do not want to suffer a repeat of what we have witnessed in other sectors.

While TTIP is probably dead and buried with the arrival of President Trump in the White House, CETA is still there. Such agreements could have the potential to obstruct our ability to use these natural resources for the overall common good. Canada for instance, is home to one of the world's biggest mining industries. These large-scale mining companies operating in Ireland would not necessarily provide any boost to either the local or national economy, would not necessarily provide much local employment nor provide significant royalty revenue to the State. The Bill should ensure that any mining operation undertaken in Ireland provides the maximum positive impact for local communities and wider society while also seeking to protect the environment.

The safety of mines is also a source of concern. The State has a responsibility to ensure all mines operate to the highest safety standards. There is a need to ensure shafts, site heaps, slagheaps etc. are kept safe for workers and the public. It is important, where a private company or owner is involved in mining, that it also be compelled to ensure the site is safe and that the Minister have the necessary powers to enforce that.

Section 132 on the designation of rehabilitation areas refers to a consultative process with the now defunct Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government. It is very important that that matter is dealt with in the Bill. However, is it the intention that a consultative process will remain between the now Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment and the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government or will responsibility fall entirely to one or the other?

Pollution of ground water and soil contamination are a serious threat from neglectful mining practices. We heard Deputy Cahill outline the situation at Silvermines where there is a huge problem. That occurs as a result of mines falling into an unmaintained state of disrepair. As a small nation where agriculture represents 10% of the economy and with a huge tourism sector we depend heavily on our natural environment and it is important to protect our ecosystems. We must be extra vigilant in protecting our most important natural resources which are our clean water and air. The State's influence and control over mining practices in Ireland have helped us to avoid any serious environmental damage from mining thus far.

I agree with the Minister of State that the Bill seeks to update the legislation. It is a big Bill running to 120 pages. It is the largest Bill I have dealt with since I was first elected to the Dáil six years ago. It is clear that years of work have gone into it and we need to get it right. However, the harmonisation of international standards could put this record in jeopardy with agreements such as CETA. For example, International Lithium Corp. is a Canadian mining company that has carried out extensive explorations in this country. Canada is geographically a very different country from Ireland with a population density that is 20 times lower than ours. It is natural in countries such as Canada and Argentina, where ILC also conducts mining operations, with vast uninhabited areas that regulations on mining would be different and that there is less concern among local communities.

However, Ireland's population is spread out more evenly across the country with a dispersed rural population, meaning that the impact on local communities of such projects is likely to be greater. Therefore, we cannot expect companies like ILC to operate by the same standards here as they do in Canada. However, certain Members of this House are creating this risk by supporting CETA and not dealing with these issues that will arise if not in our time in our children's time. This Bill should have a provision to protect against any future changes to environmental or regulatory standards as a result of any such trade deals.

This is an important Bill and we welcome that it has finally come before this House. Some specific issues remain to be addressed which we hope to amend on Committee Stage. We also have concern that limestone is included and I ask the Minister of State to review that. I note the list of what is not included. My understanding is that smokeless anthracite is included.

I have an issue in my constituency regarding the colliery in Rossmore on which I have contacted the Department on many occasions and I have had a number of exchanges with Ministers on it. I am informed that it contains significant deposits of smokeless fuel. The area has a long mining tradition. There are also significant deposits of fireclay. Lagan Brick Limited needs large supplies of fireclay. The national unemployment figures are improving, which is welcome, but in Carlow town and south-east Laois including areas such as Graiguecullen, the Swan, Graigueard and Ballylinan there are no jobs. One can drive from Portlaoise to Carlow town and across that huge swathe of countryside and find that jobs are few and far between.

There is an opportunity to tap into supplies of smokeless fuel. Some mining is going on. I know that there are issues, but I do not want to go into them. I ask that the departmental officials make a determined effort once and for all to sort out the issues in Rossmore with the interested parties and come back to me on it.

I do not want the environment damaged either, but I believe with modern mining practices, the fact that it is smokeless fuel, the fact that the fireclay is being used locally and is being processed locally, means we would not have a big carbon footprint. It only has to go a couple of miles up the road which is of great benefit. A lot of material is being used in this country. Some companies are importing stone that is being brought on ships from China with a huge carbon footprint. The Minister, Deputy Denis Naughten, the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Kyne, and all of us here are very concerned about reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. Here is an opportunity to ensure that locally sourced material can be processed locally very close to where it is being extracted.

There is a need for jobs. All the pieces come together. We talk a lot about joined-up thinking. The Rossmore colliery provides an opportunity to do that. I ask the Minister of State to have his senior officials look at the case of Rossmore again and see if we can come to a permanent solution with it so that things are regularised, jobs can be provided, smokeless fuel can be provided and we can continue to extract fireclay from that site in Rossmore and create those badly needed jobs in south County Laois.

8 o’clock

Overall, we welcome the Bill. It is a comprehensive piece of work but, inevitably, when we go through it, there are pieces we want to tweak.

My other concern is about the royalties. Our party is very concerned about this. We have a situation where in 2012, there was €9 million, which is a drop in the ocean. The 1,300 direct jobs in mining and the 1,900 jobs which are supported indirectly are good and we welcome them. The fact is that with royalties, we are getting €9 million. There are tiny companies around the country in which there are only a couple of people working. They are paying that in revenue to the State by way of PRSI and tax. It is absolutely minuscule. If we divide that out between the 42 companies operating, we are talking about a very small figure. We ask the Minister of State to address that issue. I do not want to harp on about this but if we look at what happened with our oil and gas, we know how it happened. I am not blaming the Minister of State for that because he was not here at the time. We gave it away. Other countries have sovereign funds from what is being extracted. Norway is an example. We might not have the island gas that Norway has but we have some. It is a separate issue. We are dealing with mining here, not oil and gas. Let us use this as an opportunity to ensure we get royalties from extraction. Let us ensure the State and its citizens get what they are entitled to and let us use the badly-needed money from royalties and revenues that come in from this type of industry for the common good. I appeal to the Minister of State to examine that issue again.

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