Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's response. He mentioned a number of topics and the very positive innovation introduced in the previous Dáil, which means there is no need for planning permission for the installation of solar panels on barns and sheds around the country. That has been really positive. Through the TAMS process, a lot of people continue to take advantage of that. That is something of which I am very complimentary.

At the heart of the response was that discussion about the competition between the importance of the land for tillage and the question around solar farms. That is where we are seeing it arising. As someone who was a councillor for many years, I have been through a lot of county development plans, zonings and everything else and where solar farms fit in that. We are very clear on certain segments and certain sections, be it commercial land, but we are now seeing solar farms. That is why it has become a very hot topic in our area.

See this speech in context