Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I think we will all have found when taking a look at the Minerals Development Bill 2015 that it is a very large and complex Bill. As Senator Daly has said, its primary purpose is to bring together the large volume of legislation that comprises the Minerals Development Acts, as adopted between 1940 and 1999. The Bill provides for the continued vesting in the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources of the exclusive right to work minerals, subject to certain exceptions. The Bill also provides for the setting and calculation of fees and royalties. It also provides for a comprehensive suite of powers for dealing with abandoned mines and mine sites. It seeks to implement international environmental legal obligations set out in the Aarhus Convention. The Bill provides for public participation in and access to our justice system to allow citizens to make an input into activities of the mining industry that may have a significant on the environment and may not be the subject of planning permission.

While the Bill deals with the legislative side of the mining industry, it is also important to outline some positive aspects of the industry. When one looks to the future of mining, one must consider that Ireland's 70,000 sq. km incorporate a wide range of diverse geology and mineral deposits. Since 1960, some 15 zinc and lead deposits have been discovered, with six becoming producing mines. I have no doubt that as mining technologies develop, many previously economically unviable methods may be revisited in the future. As such, it is important that our legislation is up to date and can reflect these changes. As we know, this Bill is designed to replace legislation that was introduced over more than 40 years from the 1940s to the 1990s. As the Minister of State has said, much of this legislation is now outdated and in need of modernisation. As I have said, there is also a need to implement international environmental legal obligations.

Some people are often surprised to discover the economic value of the mining sector itself in terms of output.Judged by sales turnover, mining activity was worth €426 million in Ireland in 2012 - the most recent figures I could find - while the activity of exploration and mining supported 1,373 full-time jobs in that year. The level of employment supported economy-wide is estimated at approximately 3,300 jobs. It is not, therefore, an insignificant sector and it is important that the legislation be brought into line with international standards, while also being modernised to reflect its importance.

One change worth nothing in the Bill is that it proposes that claims for compensation be extinguished if they are not made within a prescribed timeframe. The minerals development Acts do not explicitly provide for the extinguishment of claims for compensation, although they do require claims to be made within specified timeframes. The changes proposed in the Bill will shift the onus on the Minister in notifying potential claimants of their potential right to compensation to the mineral owner. That is correct.

In terms of rates and royalties, the Minister has the capacity to review them at least every eight years to ensure they reflect market rates. That is an adequate provision to enable substantial fluctuations to be taken into account.

Ireland has international obligations under the Aarhus Convention to guarantee a person's right to public participation and access to justice and information rights contained in the convention. Sections 203 to 205, inclusive, set out the public notice requirements in respect of mineral activities. Section 205 requires the Minister to take due account of the outcome of public participation in the decision and include in it any relevant information on the procedure to seek to have the decision judicially reviewed, while also making available a copy of the decision with the reasons and considerations on which it was based. This should ensure clarity and transparency on the matter.

All told, this is, effectively, a modernisation of existing legislation, while also seeking to ensure we are up to date in meeting our international environmental obligations. I, therefore, commend the Bill to the House.