Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)

In recent weeks, I have attended a number of different community meetings in my constituency relating to proposed energy projects. These are causing a lot of concern and are very divisive. They are all being led by private investors. To give a few examples, in Athenry, Bord Gáis Energy is proposing to build the Cashla peaker plant 2.5 km from Athenry town. This is an open-cycle gas turbine plant with a capacity of more than 300 MW and a 100 ft high emission stack. In Portumna, a reserve gas-fired generator is awaiting a decision from An Coimisiún Pleanála. This project alone would represent more than 1 GW of generation capacity, with three chimney stacks in excess of 100 ft. These two developments would be among the largest individual generation units on the island. In Monivea and Abbeyknockmoy, the proposed Bellville solar project led by PCRE is planned to cover approximately 1,000 acres within the community across multiple different sites. This is a small, rural community that would be left totally unrecognisable should this development go ahead in its current form. We also have a huge number of wind farms at various stages of planning in my constituency, especially in north Galway. In some cases, these involve turbines of up to 200 m high in close proximity to homes.

We have a significant concentration of developments in east Galway, which is something that needs to be looked at. These are all very large developments in close proximity to residential areas and schools. There is a target of at least 2 GW of new, flexible, gas-fired generation by 2030 in the climate action plan. From the projects I just outlined, the two developments in Athenry and Portumna would provide roughly 1.5 GW, or three quarters, of this target. Two proposed projects within 40 km of each other would contribute three quarters of what is supposed to be a national target.

People have serious questions around safety, health and well-being and the impact on their homes, property value, quality of life and the local landscape and environment. In Monivea, there are particular concerns about the long-term impacts on the community. Will their children be able to build there in the future? What will the future of farming look like in the area, given that prime agricultural land is being taken up? There is no clarity for people on these issues.

When it comes to large-scale developments, we need to consider the impact on the social fabric of communities. Like I said, these projects are very divisive within communities. Neighbours and families are falling out with one another because they may have facilitated land or access.

The role of private developers is also causing a huge amount of frustration. They are landing these massive proposals on top of communities. The public consultation is not sufficient. People are not being made aware of it and it seems to be a box-ticking exercise. Serious allegations have been made of people being misled as to the nature of projects, as well as people being coerced into facilitating access, which is very serious.

That is just a flavour of the issues coming up in the communities I represent. We could talk for a long time in detail about all of the concerns these developments are causing and the frustration with how these private companies are treating communities while they profit massively from them.

The Government is failing communities due to the absence of a plan-led approach with regard to these developments. The wind energy development guidelines are completely out of date. We are told that solar guidelines are starting to be developed, but there is little information other than that forthcoming. There are no specific plans regarding gas plants. Is this something the Government will finally get a handle on? Of course, we need energy, particularly renewable energy, but this is not the correct way to go about it. What response does the Government have to these issues? How will it ensure, as much as possible, that developments are appropriate to communities?

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