Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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150. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the position regarding any prospecting licences issued with respect to lithium extraction in an area (details supplied); if any mining licence applications have been submitted for this site to date; his views on the potential environmental impact of mining in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26117/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Prospecting Licences for the area concerned are held for a number of minerals, including lithium. I can advise that no mining licence applications have been submitted for this site. Before mining can take place if a commercial find has been identified and proven, three permissions must be obtained. Planning permission from the local authority, an industrial emissions or integrated pollution control licence from the Environmental Protection Agency and a State Mining Lease or Licence from the Geoscience Regulation Office, which must be accompanied by an Appropriate Assessment under the Habitats Directive and an Environmental Impact Assessment under the EIA Directive. An application for a State mining facility will only be considered once the first two permissions have been granted.

As set out in the Government’s Policy Statement on Mineral Exploration and Mining, published in December 2022, the protection of our environment and conservation of our natural heritage is paramount in how mineral prospecting and mining activities are regulated.