Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is responsible for developing planning policy and legislation. Extensive public consultation rights are enshrined and protected under Irish planning law. These apply not only to wind energy developments but to all forms of development that require planning permission.

The Government Policy Statement on the Strategic Importance of Transmission and other Energy Infrastructure, published in July last year, recognises the need for and urgency of new energy infrastructure. It notes that the planning process provides the necessary framework for ensuring that all necessary standards are met and that consultation is built into the process. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government issued guidelines on wind energy development in 2006 and these are available on that Department's website.

When carrying out forward planning and development management functions, planning authorities are required to have regard to guidelines issued by the Department. The guidelines are also intended to ensure a consistency of approach throughout the country in the identification of suitable locations for wind energy development and the treatment of planning applications for wind energy developments. This mapping of suitable locations is carried out through the development plan process, which makes extensive statutory provision for public consultation. In addition, the guidelines also provide advice on best practice with regard to public consultation in advance of the lodgement of a planning application for a wind energy development.

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, in conjunction with my Department, is undertaking a technical update of the guidance on certain aspects of the wind energy development guidelines and the advertisement on the consultation was in the newspapers yesterday. The update is intended to ensure that the wind energy guidelines are supported by a robust and up-to-date evidence base on these issues and to support wind energy development in a manner that safeguards residential amenity, consistent with EU and national policy. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government issued a press notice in this regard yesterday.

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