James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State's last statement is absolutely bizarre. The chairman of An Bord Pleanála has sought solar energy planning guidelines and has argued that they are needed. The Minister of State has said that they are not needed but he should talk to the chairman of An Bord Pleanála. I also have an issue with the language being used by the Minister of State and his references to "solar farms". He is using the language of the large, commercial energy sector but these are not farms. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has said that they are not farms because their owners are not entitled to claim under the basic payment scheme. The Revenue Commissioners have said that they are not farms because no farming takes place on them. Indeed, owners lose their agricultural relief if they set their farms over to solar energy projects.

The Minister of State needs to change his language. He also needs to look into this more carefully because effectively it is the wild west out there in terms of these solar energy projects. There are no guidelines. Planners are crying out for guidelines, as are the rural communities that are being undermined by these solar energy projects. Solar energy is crucial if this country is to meet its renewable energy targets but we need proper guidelines to protect our rural communities.

See this speech in context