Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

One of the most unusual aspects is that the planning authorities which, in many instances, were involved in closing quarries are paying the highest price for the fact that the competition is gone and they might be looking for material in south Kerry but may have to travel to north Kerry for it. That does not make sense. Long ago when county councils were building roads, they dug out clay from the sides of roads which became lay-bys. That was common sense in action. Now there is no sense. It is all gobbledygook and regulation. It is frightening to see how many quarries have closed because of planning issues. In many cases the local authorities that closed them are paying the biggest price because they were major beneficiaries from having a quarry. We have lost many mines over the years. It is like losing the rural rail network and the odds of it ever being reopened are slim. In England and Scotland great industries were brought to their knees. The coalmines were closed. It is a shame to think of generations of families who worked in the mines and how unemployment was rife after the mines closed. There was no replacement industry in many cases. That was a tragedy of the past 20 years.

Deputy Mattie McGrath, rightly, spoke about the spin-offs for communities. I have studied the Indecon report which states:

In addition to creating and supporting jobs and expenditures at local level in Ireland, exploration and mining companies also contribute to local communities in the form of financial supports to community sporting and other organisations. According to the findings of Indecon's research, mining and prospecting companies contributed a total of almost €460,000 to local community activities and organisations during 2012.

It is a small sum of money compared to what the industry is worth and the money it has made, although any money spent and contributed at local level is welcome.

The issue of fracking was debated here and many politicians, me included, were very concerned about it. We did not want to see the country allowing it to happen ever because of its consequences for communities. I would be very fearful for the mining industry in Border counties post-Brexit. There will be major implications and transitional changes because of it. It will affect employment and the operations of quarries. I hope, however, that it will not be to the detriment of any mine or cause them to close. I welcome the Bill.

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