Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 June 2010
27 Deputy Noel J. Coonan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will commit to provide funding in next year’s Estimates for a facility, Garryard mine waste facility, County Tipperary, in order to finalise rehabilitation on the former Silvermines mining sites. [23546/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Garryard mine waste management facility is part of the overall Silvermines remediation project, the total cost of which is estimated to be in the region of €20 million and on which expenditure amounting to €9 million has already been incurred. In the context of the 2011 Estimates and budget preparations, the Department will be considering expenditure options across all the sectoral areas for which I have responsibility, including mine remediation. It would not be appropriate for me to comment further pending the outcome of the Estimates and budget process.
I thank the Minister of State for his rather short and vague reply. I will repeat the specific point in my question. Will he fund the Garryard mine waste facility? I compliment the Department on the work that has been done in rehabilitating the tailings ponds, which has been a wonderful job and a success story for the community in the locality. However, there are five mining sites left: Shallee; Garryard; Gorteenadiha; Ballygowan; and Magcobar. A recent report by the EPA and Geological Survey of Ireland found that the waste left in those is categorised as grade 1, which means it contains high concentrations of metals. This matter needs to be dealt with urgently. I am asking the Minister of State to provide the funding as initially outlined in order to allow that work to proceed next year and the year after.
Clearly if there was not a recession I would be delighted to fund this. However, obviously we need to work in the confines of the budgetary and Estimates process. Therefore I cannot give the Deputy the commitment he seeks except to say that I will push hard in the context of those Estimates discussions to proceed with many of the mine remediation projects on our books at the moment. The work done to date has been €9 million well spent. I went to the area recently and met local interest groups. We will try to continue with the good work that has been done to date. I cannot foretell the future notwithstanding my relationship with the Minister for Finance.
I suppose we will continue to prod, provoke and cajole the Minister of State into providing that funding, which is essential. The job is only half done and it is very important that the remaining half gets done. The remainder needs to be done, namely the work on the Kilmastulla river and the Yellow river to allow sediment and the mine waste from the six sites I mentioned to be treated urgently, otherwise the €9 million that was spent, which as the Minister of State has said represented good value, will be wasted. We need agricultural activity to be allowed to return to normal in those areas. This is a forewarning that we will cajole, prod, push and do whatever we need to do to get the remaining funding to complete that job.
I thank the Deputy for his kind comments and I welcome his efforts to cajole and pressurise me in one way or another to complete this work. There are other projects obviously. I am looking at Deputy McManus and I am sure she will be pushing for the Avoca project. We will push hard in the context of the Estimates.
