Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We received 7,500 submissions with much detail and it is a very technical area, as the Deputy will agree. We are developing technical appendices and my Department is doing a considerable volume of work. Technically complex work is being undertaken by Marshall Day Acoustics and others. In the finalisation of the guidelines, we must be cognisant of our 2020 renewable energy targets. In the three areas on which we have been concentrating, the area we have been left with and which we have had to close off is setback distance.

In the Deputy’s contribution to the climate change debate he argued for the recognition of targets and the need for more targets. We must all acknowledge the extent of the contribution wind energy will make. In this context, the Deputy would want to be cognisant that while we need strong, fair guidelines that will deliver, given the complex issue of the requirements of our 2020 targets and good planning, the most important issue is that we get it right rather than rushing it.

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