Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the response. I appreciate this is a unique situation and one that the Government will not have much experience of dealing with. Nevertheless, it is vital that we do all that we can to assist. I ask the Minister of State to engage with the Office of Public Works, which has experience in the area of flood management, in regard to the OPW offering its help to Tara Mines should it be required, be that in regard to pumps or expertise. From what I have heard, the flooding is very extensive and it has consumed large parts of the current mine and the new mining area vital to the long-term future of the mine known as Tara Deep. Tara Deep is crucial to production post 2030 as it is where vast new deposits of lead and zinc lie.

I would encourage the Minister of State to remain in close contact with Tara management to ensure that any assistance the State can offer is provided so that mining can restart as soon as possible and, thus, we can protect the hundreds of jobs in Navan and County Meath.

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