Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

What makes it more perplexing is that last November, Boliden Tara Mines DAC applied for the renewal of prospecting licence 4502 at Tara Mines which expired on 29 December 2022. A permanent prospecting licence to prospect for specified materials in a defined geographic area has since been issued very recently. That will indicate the long-term plans for the area. It is not a licence to drill, rather it is a prospecting licence. To me that is a good signal for the future. In the meantime, there must be maximum support from the company and the duration of the temporary closure must be as short as possible.