Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am not a climate change denier. I know we need energy, but I also know that we need people to enjoy this country and have the opportunity to enjoy the future. Nobody should be left behind. New South Wales in Australia issued an energy noise guidance at 35 dB LA90. This is designed to protect people's health. The Government here continues to allow 45 dB LA90, or double the loudness. The authorities in Australia are getting it right because they want to protect people. The Taoiseach said he wanted to protect the children. It is all right to protect the children and the babies, but we must also protect the mothers and fathers, the grandfathers and grandmothers and the brothers and sisters from what is happening. The Government should trust the science. Since 2006, data has been provided by scientific people to show that living too close to wind turbines causes health problems. That is scientific data that has been built up over a period of almost 18 years. However, the Government has still not changed the guidance and regulations relating to these turbines. These people would not be here today if the Government had done so. We are asking it to ensure that, at a minimum, that the noise be reduced to 35 decibels and that the distance that turbines have to be from houses be increased from 100 m to 1 km.

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