Vol. 485 No. 1
52 Mr. B. Smith asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the current progress, if any, which has been made in relation to the extraction of the gypsum deposits at Glangevlin, County Cavan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22574/97]
I refer the Deputy to the reply to Question No. 32 of 12 February 1997, vol. 474, col. 1434 of the Official Report refers. As indicated on that occasion, the period of validity of the current exploration licence is two years, which will expire on 31 March 1998. I do not expect the licence holder to be in a position to make an informal decision as regards the future of the deposit before this date. The technical staff of my Department are, however, satisfied with the progress made to date and are continuing to monitor exploration activity by the licence holder.
