Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----that he has been getting a consistent reply from the Department for a decade and half. I understand the issue but let us be honest: when these guidelines emerge, they will probably lead to a reduction in the number of wind farms. We cannot dress it up and say that the guidelines will help to expand the supply of onshore wind energy because all of the impetus from Deputies and others has been aimed at restricting the growth of onshore wind farms.

Let us be honest: we have had incredible expansion. That is why I think offshore is where we need to go now for the next decade. That said, onshore wind farms have made an enormous contribution to electricity generation. We kind of shield ourselves from the hard choices as a society. I said yesterday that I was in this House when people were against onshore wind, gas generation and solar. We have a huge challenge in terms of energy independence, and we probably need a greater discussion on that.

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