Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her questions and observations. I do not want to start on a discordant note but many people say to me - I accept it as absolutely genuine and in good faith - that they realise we have to address global warming, that serious adverse effects are already visible from climate change, that we have to engage in a plan to decarbonise our economy, that we must move away from fossil fuels and that we need to look at new ways to deploy our resources and energy. However, they also say that wind is not the answer and that it does not even form part of the solution in some cases. If we do not address this issue on the renewable energy side through wind, we will be obliged to address it in some other way. Deputy Moynihan referred to the UK. I meet Ministers from different European countries, many of which have nuclear energy. I do not detect any enthusiasm in this country to go back and change the provisions embedded in our law to prohibit nuclear energy in Ireland. There are other forms of renewable energy, as I acknowledged earlier, which are at different levels of development. However, we cannot say we will not do onshore wind without saying what we will do instead.

I accept that there is a major issue for many people in communities which have had extremely bad experiences, whether as a result of the activities of developers or State agencies, going back a number of years. They felt, in some cases very reasonably, that they were not listened to and that their concerns were not addressed. There has been a huge improvement in that regard, particularly from EirGrid. I very much welcome EirGrid's new approach to public consultation and community engagement. If we want to have renewable energy and if we accept that renewable energy is necessary and essential, onshore wind will play a very big part.

I am not the Minister with responsibility for planning. As such, I cannot directly answer some of the Deputy's questions on planning, the operation of the guidelines, when they will kick in and whether they will affect existing applications, etc. I am not trying to walk away from the issue because it is an all-of-Government responsibility. I accept that there is a tension between the legitimate concerns of citizens and communities on one hand and the imperative to have a renewable energy policy on the other. It is not just a question of two Ministers. As a whole Government and a whole society, we must work out how we are going to reconcile this. We have not done it very well up to now. We all have a responsibility in this regard. It is principally a responsibility of Government but all of us are involved. The Deputy will see in the White Paper we publish in the next couple of weeks an initiative of real substance in terms of how I propose to address the issue of involving communities and citizens in the evolution of our energy policy.

I do not direct the following remarks to Deputy McEntee for one second.

I will just make a general point. As leaders, we cannot say "No" to one form of renewable energy that provides up to 20% of our needs without having a realistic, credible view as to what we will replace it with. It does not matter who is sitting here next year; we just cannot do that. We have got to take responsibility for what we want to see happening.

In the first instance, the wind energy guidelines are a matter for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, as Deputy McEntee knows. My Department, in particular, has been engaging with that Department. I have had perhaps three meetings on this issue with its Minister and officials. The respective officials in both Departments have had many meetings seeking to work through a set of proposals that would take account of the real concerns that exist, particularly in respect of noise, shadow flicker and amenity. It is a question of trying to reconcile these concerns with the progression of our renewable energy policy, particularly on wind. It is not easy to reconcile the two. I might as well be clear about that.

Meanwhile, we have guidelines - it is not as if we do not, although I accept that they date from 2006, which is nine years ago. As soon as we can reach a conclusion on these very technical issues, which have been the subject of discussion between the two Departments, I am sure the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government will move on the guidelines. The White Paper and the change to the whole context for public discussion and debate will be extremely important. That is my role.

I have a proposal that I believe will interest people and give them some cheer. It is that we should now start to consider ways of identifying lands, very often State lands held by Coillte, Bord na Móna or other State bodies, to determine whether we can concentrate much of the technology in those areas. This is another strand of work I am involved in to ensure we can make progress with onshore wind energy.

On the North–South interconnector, there is not really a lot that I can add to what I said at the outset. The matter is in the planning process and before An Bord Pleanála. There is a statutory process that needs to take its course. EirGrid has made considerable strides in regard to community and citizen engagement. It is fair to say it needed to do so. It has done so and has done so in a very effective way. I am aware that EirGrid has opened offices in Navan, Cootehill and Carrickmacross. It has appointed community liaison officers and agriculture liaison officers, who are all involved in an outreach exercise with the local communities along the intended route of the interconnector.