Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)

The way radar interacts with aircraft is that a little ping signal goes up and back, positioning at all times the aircraft on a vertical and horizontal axis on an air traffic controller's screen. The Irish Aviation Authority has said very clearly in recent planning files that it is unsafe to put wind farms in close proximity to radar. It distorts the signal of where those aircraft are. It jeopardises passenger safety. It also puts at risk the national asset our radar infrastructure is. A huge number of flights from America to Europe pass over Irish skies, including Woodcock Hill in Clare, every day. An Coimisiún Pleanála has decided to flatly ignore this safety advice from the Irish Aviation Authority. The authority's staff are the experts on air safety and the Government should insist that when An Coimisiún Pleanála does not have in-house expertise, it should listen, especially where safety is concerned, to the expertise of the likes of the Irish Aviation Authority.

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