I welcome this week's news, as confirmed by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment on Monday, that Great Glen Resources has withdrawn its application for a prospecting licence in County Donegal. The mining of barytes, base metals, gold and silver in the Glenfin area would have had a negative impact on the environment, the landscape and the health of the local people. I believe the withdrawal of the application is a vindication of the strength of the local communities that came out in full force against the issuing of a prospecting licence. The proposed mining activities would have had a negative impact on 52 townlands across County Donegal. Last week, I attended a public meeting organised by people in the Glenfin area who objected to the issuing of an exploratory licence and the consequent granting of an extraction licence in the event of deposits being found. The residents of the Glenfin area have seen for themselves the problems caused by exploratory licences in communities like Greencastle, County Tyrone. A prospecting licence has been granted to a Canadian company, Dalradian, which is now exploring for gold in Greencastle. Dalradian has plans to mine for gold in the Sperrin hills and valleys and to build a massive toxic mineral processing plant. This will involve waste dumps full of discarded rock, which will have been processed using cyanide and other chemicals, being left behind all over the Sperrins, which have been designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty. An unprecedented 10,000 objections were lodged against the Greencastle plan as a result of the work of the Save our Sperrins campaign, which successfully galvanised local communities into action and is continuing to call for an end to the granting of mining licences in the North. This should indicate to the Minister how strongly the communities that will be most affected by the granting of mining licences are objecting to these proposals. Great Glen Resources has turned away for now, but the open call for applications for prospecting licences will remain open until the end of this week. Communities in County Donegal want to say "No" to Great Glen Resources and a permanent "No" to mining. They are looking for a commitment from the Minister that the granting of prospecting licences now and into the future will cease. Will the Minister commit to the preservation of our rural communities, natural habitats, biodiversity and climate action goals by ceasing the granting of all prospecting licences from here on?

Prospecting licences are controlled by a strict regulatory regime. As the Deputy said, when an application is made there is an opportunity for objections to be lodged. There are clear rules regarding protected areas where prospecting licences cannot be considered. If a licence moves beyond taking samples and investigating the opportunities to drill, there is a requirement for an environmental impact assessment to be carried out. This is a new requirement that has been developed. I assure the Deputy that there are strong protections within the existing Acts to ensure explorations for mineral resources are done in accordance with the strictest of criteria. That is the way in which this has been handled. A number of prospecting licences are in place. I think there are several hundred such licences. In the event of an attempt being made to develop further in the way about which the Deputy has expressed concern, there will have to be an environmental impact assessment as a major factor in deciding on any application. If any question of risk to public safety or damage to the natural environment needs to be considered, that will happen under the environmental impact assessment. A decision to allow such an application will not occur unless the public is being protected by the proposal being advanced.

The real situation is different from what the Minister has said. Legislation is extremely weak with regard to consulting local communities that are affected by mining developments. Current legislation regulating mining practices in Ireland does not sufficiently provide for proper consultation with communities from the outset. All the local community in Glenfin saw was a notice in local newspapers saying that people had two weeks in which to lodge objections. That was not consultation. It generated further distrust, which brought us to where we are today. Even with our economic lenses on, we must accept that mining in Ireland does not offer the best value for money and creates a marginal number of jobs. The Government is continuing to advertise Ireland at international events as a destination for extractive industries. A number of companies do not pay in lieu royalties or make one-off payments. It is obvious that Ireland is being presented as a flexible destination for mining companies. The Government has lobbied strongly for Ireland as a mining destination, including in the last year at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference. In 2015, the Fraser Institute declared Ireland to be the number one country for mining policy under the headings of tax, political stability and the industry's perception of Government policy. It simultaneously found that Ireland was performing poorly when it came to the certainty of rules surrounding environmental protection, which mining corporations obviously do not like. When will the Government, which is actively pursuing mining companies, protect the communities on which it is imposing this mining activity?

I assure the Deputy that there is no question of the Government "imposing" anything in this area. These applications are made on the basis of legislation that has been passed by this House, which sets out the requirements in relation to applications, public notice, objections, the evaluation of objections and environmental impact assessments. The House has agreed and set the stringent rules under which licences are issued. The rules require companies that are looking to move beyond prospecting to drilling to meet high standards, which have been set and are continually being tightened and monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency and the other environmental protection agencies we have appointed to ensure the public is fully protected under the legislation we have passed in this House. That is the approach. The Government is not attempting to impose anything on communities. This area is governed by a clear set of legislative provisions that have been decided on by this House.