Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I note from my files on this matter that the Minister of State replied to this matter when I last raised in April. This is at least the third time I have raised it as a Member of this House. The Minister of State reported to this House last April that an order has been issued and he also said that he was pleased to inform me that the document under clause K of the mining lease had been finalised and would be served on Mogul and its directors that week by the Chief State Solicitor's office. I very much welcomed that news by the Minister of State because it seemed we were making progress.

The Minister of State will recall at that time there was considerable concern in the community because its members were experiencing difficulties arising from the dust blowing off the tailings pond in particular. January, February, March and April were particularly dry this year, as a result of which a good deal of dust blew off the tailings pond. The monitoring which is continually being carried out by the EPA for the county council showed that the levels of lead and cadmium, in particular, contained in that dust was unacceptable and that the continuing erosion of the tailings pond is causing a major problem in the community, particularly for those who are farming and those who are living in the vicinity of it.

To hear that the notice had been served under clause K by the Chief State Solicitor's office on Mogul was good news. We had hoped that in the following weeks we would see the finalisation of an agreed rehabilitation plan between Mogul and the agencies involved, specifically the EPA, in terms of a waste licence and so on, for the final rehabilitation of the tailings pond.

Very little has happened over the summer. The final rehabilitation plan, which we know will be the subject of planning permission and of a waste licence permit from the EPA, has not materialised. We are now reduced to discussing a temporary solution. Even that appears to be difficult. It is my view that Mogul Ireland is dragging its heels on this matter. I know there is a considerable degree of frustration in terms of dealings with the company. To date three submissions have been made to the county council in relation to a temporary covering of the eroded parts of the tailings pond involving organic material, and even that cannot be agreed because the proposals do not meet the county council's requirements. This relates merely to a waste permit, not to a waste licence or EPA licence or planning permission, yet nothing has been finalised.