Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 131:

In page 42, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following:

“Report on determining land area for solar panel installation 25.The Minister for Finance shall, within 90 days of the passage of this Act, publish a report on addressing the current ambiguity on the calculations used to determine the area of land on which solar panels are installed, for Capital Gains Tax retirement and Capital Acquisitions Tax agricultural reliefs.”.

An amendment to section 34 of the Finance Act 2017 extended the definition of assets that can benefit from capital gains tax, retirement relief and capital acquisitions tax agricultural reliefs to include land that is leased on which solar panels have been installed. Under that Act, land being disposed of still attracts these reliefs where the solar panels installed do not exceed 50% of the total area of land concerned.

The difficulty is there is an ambiguity surrounding the definition as laid out in the legislation and this is deterring many farmers from considering entering into land leases for solar projects. As the Minister will know well from our discussions through the years, the objective is that by 2030, 70% of the energy on our grid will be renewable. Having solar as part of that mix is vital and we need to ensure that landowners are prepared to consider leasing land for the installation of solar panels. Clarity needs to be brought to the existing legislation with a small amendment. The calculations that are used to determine the area of land on which the solar panels are installed should include only the footprint of the structures that mount the solar panels and the ancillary equipment such as service roads but exclude any area capable of being grazed by livestock.

There is a lack of clarity as to the definition of the 50% of land that is covered by solar panels. All these solar panels are mounted at a height that allows sheep to graze under them. That grazing area should be allowed as agricultural land in the calculation of the footprint of the solar panels. The lack of clarity in the legislation is causing a great deal of concern for farmers because the liability, if that definition is not clarified, is significant and is an inhibiting factor to farmers signing up to these leases.