A Public Inquiry into plans for an underground mine by Dalradian in County Tyrone is due to commence next year on January 13, in The Strule Arts Centre, Omagh.

The proposal for an underground mine by Dalradian, outside Greencastle, has been discussed for several years, with a planning application being submitted by the company in 2017. The company submitted further information to amend the proposal, including the removal of cyanide processing, in August 2019. The proposal, known as a regionally significant planning application, was referred, in September 2020, to the Planning Appeals Commission to carry out a Public Inquiry by previous Infrastructure Minister, Nicola Mallon.

According to the Planning Appeals Commission website, each interested party had until November 25, 2024, to submit any final rebuttals to the Statements of Case that they wanted to be considered during the Public Inquiry. The next key milestone will be the first sitting of the Public Inquiry on January 13, 2025. Since 2019 Fermanagh and Omagh District Council have adopted a position to oppose the plans by Dalradian. Subsequently in October 2023, following a decision made behind closed doors by a majority of Sinn Féin and Alliance Councillors, the council decided to hire external consultants and a barrister to actively oppose Dalradian’s plans at the Public Inquiry. It has been revealed that the Council has set aside upwards of £700,000 of ratepayers’ money to pay the external consultants and the barrister Conor Fegan at the Inquiry.

It is understood that the council’s external consultants and barrister, who have been preparing for the Inquiry since at least the start of this year, have been focusing on several topics to oppose Dalradian, such as visual impact of the mine, whether the mine operations are carbon neutral, the potential ecology and hydrology impact of the mine, and a socio-economic appraisal of the mine operation.

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council have not revealed any expenditure to date on the preparations for the Dalradian Public Inquiry, despite questions being asked of the Chief Executive, Alison McCullagh on costs and transparency. At the recent November Council meeting, Ulster Unionist Councillor Mark Ovens asked: “The one thing I asked about last month was how much this Council had spent so far in terms of its participation in the public inquiry that hasn’t been resolved and there is huge public concern in relation to this.”

Later, Councillor Ovens went on to say, “How much have we budgeted this year, is it still £300,000 with the £100,000 from last year or is that figure still valid? I appreciate there is another lump sum within reserves, have we touched that and how much costs have been incurred to date?"

Ms. McCullagh responded: “Certainly any information is available there for any member or member of the public who wishes to access it.” Adding that to the “best of her knowledge, no invoices have been recorded in the intervening period, if that situation has changed, we would report accordingly to Policy and Resources (Committee) or indeed depending on the nature of the report, to the planning committee”.