Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue. I will focus on the need to improve An Bord Pleanála as it has an important role in this State realising its renewable potential, in particular at this time its offshore wind potential.

We know that we have a great resource in this State and there is a long-term potential of 70 GW of ocean energy opportunity from wind, wave and tidal sources. Unfortunately, decades of under-ambition and painfully slow regulatory advancement has suffocated the development of this natural resource. This is highlighted by the fact that we have just one small wind farm currently in operation. The climate crisis, our energy security concerns, and the skyrocketing costs of light and heat reinforce the need to accelerate the delivery of offshore wind potential. The European Union has encouraged countries to ensure that their planning systems and authorities are sufficiently resourced to deliver on decisions on these projects as quickly as possible and that they should receive priority.

We need to ensure that offshore projects that are now planned are not unduly delayed due to Government inaction, that they are robustly scrutinised to assess the biodiversity and environmental impact and that communities have an opportunity to have their say. I would like to see that as many of those projects as possible are State-owned or led or community-owned or led. We need timely decisions which do not necessarily need to be quick but agreed ones.

We need proper statutory timeframes that are enforced and adhered to. We have statutory objectives but they are being missed by a country mile. For example, in decisions on planning appeals for renewables projects, of the ten planning appeals cases taken to An Bord Pleanála, none were decided within the 18-week statutory objective. The average time for a decision was 60 weeks and the average time for the board inspectors to make a recommendation was 35 weeks.

On strategic infrastructure development, SID, applications, of the three SID applications heard by the board, none were decided within the 18-week statutory objective and the average time for decision was 69 weeks. The average time for the board inspectors to make a recommendation was 47 weeks. That is completely inadequate.

As for achieving those timelines, I am aware of the deep frustration and I hear from State agencies and private developers that their deep concern is not so much with the prospect of getting a refusal but is of the inordinate delay in obtaining a decision one way or the other. Those statutory timelines need to be adhered to and to do that, they need to be resourced. We know that it is the case that An Bord Pleanála's marine and climate unit is significantly under-resourced. This is an issue I have raised with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, on numerous occasions, which is the resourcing of An Bord Pleanála, our planning authorities, but also the wider planning system, including the notified bodies whether that be through BirdWatch Ireland, the Irish Environmental Network, and the agencies and NGOs that it supports. The system needs to be provided with the resources and the capacity to do its job in a timely manner.

That brings me to my final point on the need, which is committed to in the programme for Government, for a planning and environmental court. This commitment in that programme is to establish a new planning and environmental law court managed by specialist judges and on the same basis as the existing commercial court model. I understand that there are ongoing discussions taking place with the Department of Justice on that and as to how it might work. It will have a very important role, particularly to bring Ireland in line with its European and international obligations. That is something the Minister should take on board and ensure that it happens.

See this speech in context