Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I too welcome the opportunity to contribute. I thank the Sinn Féin Party for bringing forward this Bill, which focuses on the challenge of capitalising on our wind resource while taking into account the possible negative impacts that unregulated, uncontrolled development of the wind sector could have on communities.

I wholeheartedly agree with almost everything Deputy Coffey said. It is impossible to exist on this planet without having an impact.

The agriculture committee is currently discussing land use and how best we can reconcile our climate change 2020 obligations with our Food Harvest 2020 targets to increase production and exports from the agrifood sector. The marine harvest initiatives will also have an impact. Back in my early political days on Wicklow County Council, I recall members of the Green Party deriding the council and other local authorities for not having a wind energy strategy. Having wind farms were all flavour of the month until people started to have problems with them. As well as the large multiple corporate wind farms, small units have been built which have proved to be economically viable, enhancing income for local communities and farmers with small holdings.

The Minister of State has stated she will not oppose the Bill in good faith rather than for any political gain. Last December, a consultation process on wind turbine regulation was started with a closing date of February 2014. From this, guidelines will be put in place dealing with the specific issues of turbine noise, set back and shadow flicker. The recommendation is for a statutory minimum 500 m distance from the nearest residence. However, it is not just about simply imposing a minimum distance as there are other environmental concerns such as noise and shadow flicker which must be dealt with too. As a Member opposite stated earlier, topography can result in noise sometimes bouncing much further from its source.

There is an onus on us to capitalise on our wind energy resource. We must put paid to the propaganda, however, that the proposed roll-out of more pylons is needed simply for the electricity that will be generated by wind farms. I understand Gate 3 can be accommodated under the current EirGrid network. The whole purpose of the proposed pylon roll-out is to facilitate faster transmission from power stations to areas, particularly in the event of a station being forced to go offline. Water and energy infrastructure are generally what foreign direct investors will examine to ensure their businesses can operate successfully without the lights going out or the water being unsafe.

Neither can we continue to depend on fossil fuels, which come from sources in some volatile parts of the world, while turning our back on indigenous energy resources. During the middle of the Crimean crisis, the US President, Mr. Obama, made the point that it is up to countries to ensure their energy supplies are secure. While I, along with Deputy Colreavy and others on the Border in County Leitrim, have a problem with fracking, the point was made that states needed to get their own energy supplies and not depend on gas coming through a pipeline from Russia that may become unaffordable due to developments in international relations.

Driving through a certain county in the midlands recently, I saw a poster proclaiming, “No AD here”. I first thought it was me, Andrew Doyle, but it was actually anaerobic digestion. There will always be someone saying “No” to something. Somewhere along the way we need to be responsible and take good regard of the environment. At the last Dáil’s climate change committee, the director of Trócaire was asked about birth control in the Third World. He pointed out the average carbon emission from an individual in the United States is 20 tonnes, in Europe, 12 tonnes and in the Third World, 0.87 tonnes, which begs the question where should birth control be imposed if we want to prevent climate change. These are the kind of arguments we get into if we get silly about this issue.

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