Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I welcome the Deputy's remarks at the start of his contribution that he is not against renewable energy measures. As he will be aware, the Programme for Government 2025 - Securing Ireland’s Future has reaffirmed Ireland's targets of 80% of electricity demand to be met by renewables in the near term, with plans to move to net zero by 2050. The deployment of renewable electricity, including solar energy, is vital for Ireland to meet its ambitious domestic targets and international commitments.

Solar energy is already a growing source of electricity with approximately 2.1 GW of solar power capacity currently installed in Ireland. However, there is no doubt that further solar capacity is required for Ireland to meet its domestic and international targets.

In this regard, the programme for Government reaffirms Ireland’s ambitious targets of 8 GW of solar capacity connected to the grid by 2030. From a planning perspective, the programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce new planning guidelines for solar energy development, which the Deputy called for without delay.

An important development in this regards is that chapters 1 through 4 of Part 3 of the Planning and Development Act of 2024 came into effect on 2 October. As the Deputy may be aware, this provides the statutory basis for the national planning framework and the regional spatial and economic strategies, and introduces provisions for the new national planning statements that will replace section 28 planning guidelines. Therefore, the solar guidelines, once finalised, will issue as a national planning statement under the 2024 Act. This will ensure enhanced clarity and increased consistency across the planning systems at all tiers.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is currently undertaking a scoping exercise - it is at an early stage - to identify the component factors relevant to the preparation of this national planning statement, including any appropriate environmental reporting and public consultation requirements, which the Deputy called for. This includes our European obligations such as the renewable energy directive, battery storage facilities and the possible timeframe for publication of the national planning statement. In line with EU directive requirements, a strategic environmental assessment will be carried out on any draft national planning statement regarding solar energy development. The Department intends to undertake a public consultation on the draft statement before it is finalised to give the individuals, communities and organisations the Deputy referred to the opportunity to submit observations on this draft statement. Consequently, any draft national planning statement will be prepared following detailed analysis and consideration of the submissions received during the consultation phase. The finalised draft will be subject to Government approval. In the meantime, public participation remains a cornerstone of all substantial decision-making processes in planning legislation. It is of course open to any member of the public to make an observation or submission on a planning application including in relation to solar energy developments. The planning authority is statutorily obliged to consider such submissions before making a decision on the application.

The programme for Government also contains a commitment to a land use review to ensure that optimal land-use options inform all relevant Government decisions. The second phase of this review, which is under way, will seek to identify the key demands on land both public and private to inform policies for land use across key Government objectives, improving socioeconomic, climate, biodiversity, water and air quality outcomes. The conclusions of this review will be factored into any draft national planning statement on solar energy development. Until the finalisation of the national planning statement, it will remain the case that, as with the large majority of development types, there are currently no specific planning guidelines that deal with solar energy development.

The Deputy mentioned planning conditions not being adhered to. I highly recommend that he get in touch with planning enforcement in the relevant local authority. In the short to medium term, the planning system provides a sufficient, robust policy and legislative framework in this regard.

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