James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 16:

In page 73, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following:“(3) To facilitate the rehabilitation of mine sites, the Minister shall mandate the Environmental Protection Agency, in conjunction with local authorities, to identify historic mining sites and associated waste sites that were closed before 1977.”.

This amendment relates to the plethora of historical sites throughout the country, many of which predate the planning permission and environmental protection arrangements now in place. The logic behind the amendment is to have a survey conducted of these historical sites, to create a central register to be managed by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, to advise on decisions to allow for the prospect of remediation of these sites and to allow for a better informed decision-making process when considering planning permission applications and environmental remediation options for these sites in the future.

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