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

I thank the Deputy Stanley for his amendments. In respect of amendment No. 8, Deputy Stanley has proposed that the mining licence would be reviewed every five years. I have considered his arguments and I propose to accept that amendment.

In respect of amendments Nos. 9 and 10, the royalty regulations will take into account what is a fair and reasonable rate of return to the State and to private mineral holders. Mineral exploration and development is a high risk activity. In the event of a successful discovery, a company would hope to develop the ore body and to cover all costs and make a reasonable profit. Royalty rates should be set such that they are not punitive - punitive rates results in natural resources not being exploited or developed - but at a rate such that the company can make a reasonable profit and the country can benefit from the development of its natural resources. As such, I am not proposing to accept these amendments.

I note the debate on royalty regulations and, in that context, I propose to accept the Deputy Stanley's amendment No. 11, which proposes to reduce the frequency of receiving the royalty regulations from eight years to five years.

The Bill also provides for the laying of an annual report before each House of the Oireachtas under section 223, providing details of licences granted, money collected, acquisition and rehabilitation orders made. It is currently the practice that details of mining licences and leases granted, including royalty rates and fees are included in six-monthly reports to the Oireachtas. Therefore I do not propose to accept this amendment.

I do not propose to accept amendment No. 13 as I believe flexibility is required in this section. There may be a case where, for instance, prices of minerals decrease considerably and the Minister may at short notice have to make a decision to reduce, waive or defer payments or royalties. Such a case might arise in order to keep a mine in operation and thus maintain employment. This would only be expected to arise in very limited circumstances and will require the agreement of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Deputy Stanley quoted a number of figures. He should know that there is also a corporation tax rate of 25% as well as royalties on mining licence fees and I believe the figures quoted were only royalty figures so there is additional tax as well as the tax generated from employment.

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