Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Will the Minister of State clarify that his Department cannot interfere in the planning process and this means the application for 46 industrial turbines will be dealt with by An Bord Pleanála under the existing guidelines? Will he also clarify that if new guidelines are introduced in January or February and applications are still before An Bord Pleanála, they will be subject to the new guidelines? If not, has the statutory clock started ticking meaning they will be scrutinised under the existing statutory guidelines? Nobody is being disrespectful to or disingenuous with the Department. Nobody expected that it would receive 7,500 submissions but everybody is exercised about this. We are concerned that the Government is following the policy of the previous Government, which is based on outdated information and the Grid25 planning process. More important, wind energy projects are supposed to be introduced in co-operation with communities and in sympathy with the environment. These applications do neither but we are standing idly by and not supporting the people we represent in our towns and villages by allowing big business to come in and make money at other people's expense, which is not on.

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