Alan Kelly (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister to the House. I wish to raise a very important issue on the Adjournment, namely, whether the Government will honour its commitment to clean up the Silvermines dumps, which have remained idle since mining operations ceased in the area in the early 1980s. This issue has been discussed in the House before, but changes that have taken place recently have brought the issue to the fore again. A number of reports were carried out by the EPA, the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Teagasc, North Tipperary County Council and so on. Therefore, there is much awareness of this issue.

There was a very lengthy campaign by the residents in Silvermines and the surrounding areas to have the Silvermines mining area cleaned up, especially the Gortmore tailings pond. The latter area was investigated by the EPA, which in its report described it as "a perpetual risk to human and animal health".

A commitment was given by the Government two years ago to provide €10.6 million to rehabilitate and clean up the Gortmore tailings pond and five other old mine sites in the Silvermines area that cover approximately 150 acres, as they were deemed to pose environmental and health hazards. The tailing management facility in the townland of Gortmore contains the toxic remains of millions of tonnes of lead, zinc and silver silt, which were once delivered by a pumping pipe from the metal ore processing mill at Silvermines, approximately one mile away. The report also indicated that if the Government and North Tipperary County Council failed to take safety measures to prevent humans and animals being exposed to lead and other toxins used in the mining industry, they could leave their health at risk. This could lead to lead, arsenic and cadmium poisoning, and we have seen already the impact of this on animals. The report stated that it might take up to 20 years to have serious effects on humans, but those 20 years are up and there is serious concern among the residents.

The commitment by the Government aimed to clean out the Silvermines areas over a phased basis, beginning with the most vulnerable areas such as Gortmore and then moving on to other vulnerable sections of the old mines. However, it has recently been revealed by North Tipperary County Council that the cost of the clean up of the Gortmore area alone has risen to around €7 million, which is more than twice the €3 million that was allocated by the Government at the time. This is because the clean up work now envisaged for Gortmore needs to be far more extensive in order to protect human health. The tender for the work will go out soon, but it appears the works will have to be reduced sizeably because the budget is not available.

In essence, we need a commitment from the Government to provide the funding required to get the full work carried out. It has been admitted by the county council that it will have to break up this work into a number of phases in order to get it done, and that only phase one will be delivered this year. This phase will supposedly include basic provisions to ensure dust particles containing lead and other toxic substances will be prevented from blowing around farms and across farmlands. The provisions are basic as only the most vulnerable areas will be covered. The council has stated that depending on the budget allowed in 2009, it will address other areas in the Silvermines. The director of environmental services in North Tipperary County Council has admitted his concern for future funding provision for this work and this has raised alarm bells in the area.

There is a specific concern here regarding funding provision and the Government's commitment on this work. Is the Government fully committed to its initial promise two years ago of €10.6 million for the clean up operation? Will the Minister provide additional funding to ensure the work to preserve human health is carried out, given that initial quantification of the cost has been seen already to be out of date? Why will the Minister not inform North Tipperary County Council how much of the €10.6 million it is to allocate to the clean up operation in Gortmore in 2009, if there is no problem with the funding? It has allocated only €3 million to date. Is there a specific issue? The people should be made aware of such an issue if it exists.

The residents of the area would welcome confirmation that the funding will be provided for this work without any conditions and in the appropriate timeframe. It is essential for their future well being. As someone who knows these people well, has relations living in the area and whose family members worked in the mines, I would also welcome a positive response.

The group here would like to meet the Minister if possible. He is on record as saying it is disgraceful that successive Governments over 20 years have allowed this environmental pollution to continue in the Silvermines area. We hope the Government will fund the appropriate clean up in order that the people there can live without fearing for their health in the future.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I am taking the debate on behalf of the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, who is at an official function.

Since the matter was last raised in the House in April 2005 there has been substantial progress on the rehabilitation project, which I am happy to outline here today. On the previous occasion the matter was raised, the then Minister outlined the Department's priority to put in place a credible remediation proposal that would effectively address the long-standing concerns of the local community. Furthermore, priority was also placed on addressing the issue of the legal responsibility of Mogul of Ireland Limited to remediate the mine workings under clause K of its mining lease dating from 1965.

I will outline the history of the Department's attempts to get the leaseholder to meet its legal liabilities. Mogul of Ireland Limited was first put on notice by the Department in December 1999 about its liability. However, after a number of meetings and various proposals put forward by the company throughout 2003 and 2004, serious doubts began to emerge concerning the company's financial and technical capability to carry out the works to the standard required. The Department finally concluded that Mogul could not deliver a satisfactory rehabilitation programme, and that further dialogue on this issue would serve no purpose. The EPA and North Tipperary County Council, which worked closely with the Department and its consultants at all stages, concurred with this view.

The Department, through the Office of the Chief State Solicitor, moved to enforce compliance on Mogul through the courts. In January 2007, it formally issued a motion for judgment on Mogul in the High Court. While settlement talks were ongoing in this matter Mogul went into liquidation in July 2007. The Department is continuing to seek a satisfactory resolution to this matter with Mogul's liquidator, although given the limited assets of the company the potential for a return commensurate with the cost of the rehabilitation works is minimal.

Aside from the enforcement of the company's legal liabilities, the Department has actively engaged in preparing plans for the rehabilitation of the area, implementation of which required new legislation. The power of the Minister to undertake, or procure the undertaking of such works is not specifically provided for in the Minerals Development Acts. Special provisions were therefore included in the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006 to give the Minister powers to expend funds on mine rehabilitation projects. In addition, the Act conferred upon the Minister or his agent powers to prepare and implement mine rehabilitation plans, as well as powers of entry onto land where necessary. The Minister was also given powers of compulsory acquisition of lands where necessary for the purposes of implementation of mine rehabilitation plans. These are essential to ensure that the project could be planned and progressed without running the risk of encountering unnecessary and possibly lengthy delays. The Act also contained a provision giving the Minister or his agents discretionary powers to recover State expenditure on rehabilitated lands.

These legislative provisions were an interim measure pending enactment of a comprehensive minerals development Bill, which is currently with the Parliamentary Counsel of the Office of the Attorney General for drafting. The Minister hopes to bring the legislation to Government later this year and the interim legislation will be repealed when it is enacted.

In June 2005, the Government approved the appointment of North Tipperary County Council as the Minister's agent for the carrying out of the rehabilitation project. In 2006, following a competitive tendering process, North Tipperary County Council appointed Golder Associates to finalise the design and manage the implementation of the rehabilitation programme as set out in the conceptual plans prepared by SRK Consulting in 2005. This work continued throughout 2007, with particular focus on the Gortmore site.

The Minister is pleased to inform the House that Part 8 planning permission for the rehabilitation of the Gortmore site was obtained by North Tipperary County Council on 17 September 2007. Since then, the project team has been engaged in preparing a shortlist of suitable contractors to undertake construction work on the site. Tender documents are almost completed and the Department expects that tenders will be invited from this shortlist in the near future. Rehabilitation work on the Gortmore site will commence once this tendering process is complete.

Alan Kelly (Labour)
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I would appreciate if the Minister would ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources a question on my behalf. Given that €3 million of the €10.6 million has been allocated this year and accepting that the cost of the works will be in excess of the latter figure, will the Minister outline the dates for the staged release of the funds in order that a proper assessment can take place of the volume of work that each phased allocation will cover? Local people would like to know if certain areas will be prioritised and how much money will be allocated for phase 2 in 2009 or 2010. Without such information, they will not be able to determine how much funding will be available each year. I would appreciate if the Minister would obtain a statement providing information on the phased roll-out of expenditure on the works.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I will ensure a record of the Senator's comments is forwarded to the Minister.