Vol. 464 No. 3
28 Mr. B. Smith asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the progress, if any, that 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. [8122/96]
A prospecting licence covering the gypsum deposit known to exist at Glangevlin was issued on 1 April 1996. The purpose of the prospecting licence issued in this case is to allow both my Department and the company holding the licence to assess the commercial viability of the gypsum deposit. The exploration programme being carried out will also give an insight to any special safety and any environmental issues which might arise in the event of it proving otherwise to be commercially viable.
The question of extraction of the minerals is one to be addressed at a much later stage. The grant of a State mining facility to allow commercial extraction would, of course, be dependent, inter alia, on the applicant having completed an environmental impact study, obtained the necessary licence from the Environmental Protection Agency and obtained planning permission.
