Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The EirGrid Bill is due next year. The Government very firmly committed to meeting the targets we have set for wind energy and it will play an important part in meeting those targets. We are very much aware of the extent of public concern about wind turbines and so on. I know from where I come that these matters cause people genuine concern. There is a need to strike the right balance between the need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, which is exceptionally high each year, and the needs of local communities, which is what the Deputy articulated.

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, in conjunction with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, has put in place a targeted review of the wind energy guidelines of 2006, of which the Deputy spoke, focusing specifically on noise, flicker and proximity, or closeness, to houses.

The timetable for the publication of this is quarter four of 2013, in a couple of weeks' time. The draft guidelines will be for a period of six weeks to two months to allow for publication of the final guidelines in 2014. I assure the Deputy and the people of the midlands that all these views will be taken into account. These are serious matters, although quite clearly-----

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