I have been informed by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment that Prospecting Licences issued to BMEx Ltd. in respect of the Belturbet/Milltown/Drumlane area have been recently surrendered by the company.
The Minister was replying to my further Parliamentary Question in Dáil Éireann in relation to the concerns of the local community about the prospecting and potential mining and the adverse environmental impacts such activities would have on that general area.
I was glad, along with Councillor Sean Smith and Councillor John Paul Feeley, to meet with and support the Cavan Mining Objection Group in raising their concerns. This Group put together very detailed and well reasoned arguments against such prospecting and I was glad to support their work.
Below is reply by the Minister to my Dáil Question -
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For Written Answer on : 25/04/2018
Question Number(s): 195 Question Reference(s): 18123/18
Department: Communications, Climate Action and Environment ______________________________________________
QUESTION
[Ref No.: 18123/18] * To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if issues raised in correspondence (details supplied) will be examined in view of the concerns of a local community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. – Brendan Smith.
Correspondence emailed to Dept on 20/04/2018 @ 13:10 * For WRITTEN answer on Wednesday, 25th April, 2018. (519 Received on 19th April, 2018.)
REPLY
As the Deputy may be aware, three comprehensive letters of information and clarification have been sent to the Cavan Mining Objection Group to date and all of the issues now raised have been addressed previously. In addition, a presentation was given to Cavan County Council by the Chief Geologist of the Exploration and Mining Division of my Department on April 9th at which members of the Cavan Mining Objection Group were present. For clarity, I will ask my officials to send a copy of all correspondence and of the presentation given to Cavan County Council directly to the Deputy.
In brief, in response to the points raised in the correspondence attached to the Deputy’s question, I can confirm: · To date, where minerals have been found and companies have purchased land, this has been agreed with the landowner. There have been no instances to date where a landowner has been forced to sell their land. In addition, to date, there have been no compulsory acquisitions of land for mining development. · The text of my Department’s letter to the Cavan Mining Objection Group, dated 28 September, identified the environmental safeguards that have been put in place to guard against the possibility of any potential significant environmental impacts arising. It is important to note that in the case of mining, the environmental assessments are carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). · It is noted that Ireland ranks highly in the Policy Perception Index (PPI) because of its robust and transparent regulatory system. The transparency of the expectations with regard to adherence to licence conditions and protection of the environment provide clarity to any exploration company considering investment in this jurisdiction. · The Directors of BMEx Ltd. carried out two site visits in the locality. Other than that, the data analysis and compilation has been desk-based. · It should be noted that no application for mining has been made. I reiterate that prospecting and exploration activities are non-intrusive and temporary in nature and environmental impact is minimal.
The up-to-date position regarding these Prospecting Licences is that BMEx Ltd. have carried out data compilation and geological mapping in the Prospecting Licence Areas, and, as a result of this work, they have downgraded the prospectivity of the project and have decided to prioritise exploration elsewhere. The licences have been recently surrendered by the company. I trust this and all of the previous correspondence clarifies matters for the Deputy.