Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing my time with Deputy Sean Fleming.

I am sure it was Deputy James Bannon's influence on the Government that caused it to see sense on this important issue. Joking aside, there are many communities the length and breadth of the country that are very concerned about the future development of wind energy projects. Many communities have seen wind energy projects successfully developed in recent years and it must be said also that many within these communities are concerned about the development of these wind farm in relation to flicker, noise etc. Last year Deputy Michael Colreavy and I spent one day on wind farms in Cavan. We went through what was happening on them in terms of the height of the turbines and the issues to do with sub-stations to transfer the energy created. It is all very fine to say the future is renewable energy and that this is a cheap and economic way of producing energy, but there are a number of issues to be addressed.

The one about which I am constantly concerned is the comments made by Mr. Colm McCarthy on the future economic viability of wind energy production. In recent months we saw a television programme on what the Germans were doing; they were withdrawing from wind energy generation. There is a concern that we are moving headlong into it. There are many communities that I have met, particularly in the midlands, which are very concerned about the proposal to develop wind farms solely to produce energy for the export market. There is a lot of angst about this proposal. What they are most angry about is the height of the turbines to be built. The available technology has advanced and the new turbine is hugely superior to what was being proposed even three, four or five years ago.

Some counties have been looking at their county development plans and, because of the scientific analysis, have drawn up maps of where wind farms should be located, indicating the most advantageous areas for their development, but there is an issue about the generation of wind energy close to communities. In the recent past there have been many articles about how rural communities that have served all facets of society extremely well for generations and about how we are moving towards greater urbanisation.

There is an issue of how we will sustain our rural communities. If the projects being proposed are deemed to be suitable for wind energy, we must remember proposals in the late 80s and early 90s for dual carriageways before we built motorways. Where there were proposals for a road here or a corridor there, the areas were effectively sterilised for a generation because of the proposals in county development plans. There is a concern that going down the route of having designated areas for wind farms or wind energy means areas will be sterilised for one-off houses or development within communities to allow young people to settle down, raise families and maintain the viability of rural communities. It is an urgent issue and I have constantly challenged planners on it.

I am glad the Government is not opposing the legislation because we need an honest debate about it. As Deputy Stanley said, if we were not so close to election time I wonder whether the Bill would be opposed. We will take the Government at its word. We need a major debate. It would be good to get an absolute definition of the word "consultation". In the EirGrid pylons debacle, the organisation said it had consulted with the communities. It put up a notice saying that two or three of its officials would be in the community centre or in a hotel room for three or four hours. This might be between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on a Tuesday or Wednesday, a working day, so people cannot get to the meeting. Proper consultation involves sitting down and listening to the concerns. Who will live alongside wind turbines? Are we saying it is wind turbines or people? It is a fundamental issue. Turbines can be put in uninhabited areas but they should not be put in areas where people live. We have seen the policy developed across Europe, and many countries can tell us how to do this. We are rushing into it and it is important to get it right rather than foist wind turbines upon communities for the sake of conforming to renewable energy targets.

We must have proper consultation and a listening process. We have not had that in respect of wind turbines, when the process has been back to front. Many people in the community are genuinely concerned, as are the public representatives, about the future of their communities if turbines are foisted upon them. Many communities have accepted smaller turbines and successful wind farms over the past number of years. Community groups have been involved through co-operatives but only at the planning stage. It is important to consider all aspects of this to ensure buy-in in the community. It is not a question of funding local communities through different projects, which can be construed in another way. The debate needs to be open and needs an honest assessment of people's fears and concerns.

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