Vol. 433 No. 3
29 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications if he will confirm that a report produced on behalf of the Department of Energy in the mid-1980s in regard to Tara Mines, in which the State was then a major shareholder, found evidence of the disbursement of huge sums of money unaccounted for; if he will publish the report; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
In the mid 1980s, the then Minister for Energy commissioned, under the provision of the Agreement and Lease with Tara Mines Ltd. dated 19th September, 1975 the study to which the Deputy is referring. The purpose of the study was to enable the Minister to assess the extent of the compliance by Tara Mines Ltd. with the provisions of the Agreement and Lease. There are strict confidentiality provisions contained in the Agreement and Lease and we are precluded by these, from publishing or making any further comment, on the contents of the report. In addition, the report forms part of litigation, which is due to go before the Courts in November 1993, to which the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communication is a party. Consequently it would be inadvisable for me to make any comment on the contents of this report, even in the absence of the confidentiality provisions.
