Dáil debates

Thursday, 15 September 2022

Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage

Wind Energy Generation

9:55 pm

Photo of Michael McNamaraMichael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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I wish to raise the issue of the Derrybrien wind farm with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications. Obviously he is not here and I thank the Minister of State for coming even though it is not in her Department. I appreciate that there are probably a lot of places she would rather be than fulfilling duties outside of her departmental remit. Derrybrien is not directly in the Minister of State's constituency and I know the boundary between Galway East and Galway West changes occasionally but Derrybrien is pretty firmly in the Galway East constituency. However, everybody in the country is aware of Derrybrien and what it is. It is at the northern end of the Slieve Aughty mountain range, which comprises about 65,000 ha. The Derrybrien wind farm is about 345 ha of that, and some 70 wind turbines were granted planning permission there. There was quite a huge landslide in October 2003, which had a detrimental effect on the environment. An Bord Pleanála described it as having "significant... residual effects" that cannot be fully mitigated, with "significant effects on the environment". Ireland was taken to task by the European Commission for its failure to respect the habitats directive. That case against Ireland was successful and there was an environmental impact assessment carried out but it was found to be inadequate as a result of that court case, rendering the planning permission effectively invalid.

I do not think the wind farm should have been built and I do not think anybody would grant planning permission for it now but that is not necessarily the issue. The issue is that it is there, the damage has been incurred and we have taken all of the downsides of it. That includes the local community, the communities around Slieve Aughty and the environment. The issue now is if we can obtain a benefit from it. An Bord Pleanála, notwithstanding the inspector's recommendation this summer, recommended that substitute permission not be granted. It found that there were no exceptional circumstances. The requirement for exceptional circumstances was the subject of Supreme Court litigation where the State's planning regime was again found to be inadequate, although this time not by the European courts but by the Irish Supreme Court. The court found that there were no exceptional circumstances and I understand and accept that we cannot reward persons for flouting planning legislation, inadvertently or advertently, which is what happened in this instance.

The issue is whether a new application could and should be made. It is not right or proper that the ESB would benefit from this, or Coillte, which is the landowner for at least part of the wind farm. Perhaps this should be transferred to a local authority to make a new application with the explicit undertaking that any and all profits that are made from this development go back into protecting the environment of Slieve Aughty. This would include both remediating the damage and furthermore, protecting the environment of that mountain range, which is badly damaged by that wind farm.

That two wrongs do not make a right is, in effect, what I am suggesting.

10:05 pm

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I am taking this issue on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

The Derrybrien wind farm was first referred by the European Commission to the Court of Justice of the EU in 2006, case C-215/06, and has been the subject of infringement proceedings, and the subject of a lump sum fine of €5 million and significant daily fines of €15,000 per day until the terms of the judgment are met, as a result of same. To comply with the judgment, the intention was for the operator of the wind farm, an ESB subsidiary, to apply under amendments to the Planning and Development Act for "substitute consent", that is, planning permission for development requiring retrospective environmental impact assessment, following a request to make the application from the local authority, Galway County Council. ESB lodged its application for substitute consent with An Bord Pleanála for the Derrybrien wind farm on 21 August 2020. On 4 February 2022, An Bord Pleanála decided to refuse to grant substitute consent for the wind farm development at Derrybrien. On 15 February 2022, ESB paused the operation of the wind farm at Derrybrien following the decision by An Bord Pleanála to refuse to grant substitute consent.

On 16 March 2022, ESB confirmed that it has decided to close the Derrybrien wind farm on a permanent basis. The statutory timeframe for other potential objectors to bring judicial review proceedings in this matter has now expired. On foot of the refusal by An Bord Pleanála to grant substitute consent for the wind farm, the environmental impact assessment, EIA, regularisation process for the Derrybrien wind farm has ended and the development is now deemed by primary legislation to be an unauthorised development. Section 177O(5) of the Planning Act is very explicit insofar as Derrybrien is now classed as an unauthorised development and the cessation of the activity is required. Any attempt to keep the wind farm operational would, therefore, be unlawful. It is, therefore, subject to mandatory planning enforcement by the relevant planning authority, Galway County Council, which will carry out this function in accordance with its statutory responsibilities.

There is no legal basis for Derrybrien's continued operation. It is very important in the context of compliance with EU law that immediate steps are taken to ensure the plant is decommissioned as quickly as possible, and discontinuation of the unauthorised wind farm should be a key factor in seeking to end Ireland’s liability to pay significant daily fines to the European Commission. Government officials are engaging with the Commission in this regard. It is the Government's view that the An Bord Pleanála decision and the acceptance of the ESB of this decision and its stated intention to decommission Derrybrien brings the State into compliance with the original judgment.

The full impacts of the closure of Derrybrien wind farm have been considered. There are limited global and European energy policy arguments to be made for the continued operation of Derrybrien. There are no substantive arguments to be made from a domestic security of supply perspective. Any attempts to retain the wind farm in operation would face planning and legal obstacles.

Photo of Michael McNamaraMichael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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I find slightly surprising the conclusion that there are no substantive arguments to be made with regard to the security of domestic supply, given Derrybrien provides, on a good day at least, 1% of the energy needs of the State at a time of energy crisis. I am not suggesting that Ireland should flout EU law; it is very disappointing that it has done so and that it is has dragged its heels for so long. What I am suggesting is that another attempt be made to bring Derrybrien into compliance with European Union law. Maybe a better application should be made to mitigate the very negative effects of what has happened. Maybe an application should be made by a developer that is not the original developer, which has been in violation of the requirement for so long, albeit it may have been inadvertent at the time, and it may have been a failure by this House and the Department to properly transpose European legislation that gave rise to much of this problem. However, so too is the manner in which ESB, or its wholly owned subsidiary, Gort Windfarms Limited, went about building this.

Nobody is suggesting that those who flouted environmental norms be rewarded, but rather that the State would not be penalised. We have taken all of the disadvantages, as I have said. There is a real risk and a worry in the community that in seeking to decommission, we are going to cause further damage along the lines of the damage that was already caused.

The worst of it all is this. I do not know if the Minister of State knows the topography of the area well but Slieve Aughty is on the northern side of Lough Derg and Slieve Bernagh is on the southern side. Coillte is proposing to do exactly the same thing on top of Slieve Bernagh - this is a blanket bog on top of a mountain and it wants to put up turbines. It is going to endanger Slieve Bernagh and decommission a wind farm that can be seen across Scariff Bay and that has created environmental havoc in the past. Nobody is sympathising with that. What I am saying is that it may be time to cut our losses and to make a new application, and the State should consider the good that perhaps could come out of it.

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The ESB is a commercial State company. It has accepted the decision of An Bord Pleanála and is in the process of preparing for the decommissioning and removal of the wind farm. As previously stated, the Government has explored all avenues and impacts in this regard and is satisfied that there is no legal basis for its continued operation. The Government is committed to pursuing the transition to a climate-resilient, biodiversity-rich and climate-neutral economy by no later than the end of the year 2050, as set out in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021.

Under the climate action plan 2021, CAP21, and the sectoral emissions ceilings, Ireland has a target of up to 80% of electricity demand to come from renewable energy sources by 2030. This will be comprised of up to 8 GW of onshore wind, up to 5.5 GW of solar and at least 7 GW of offshore, with 2 GW earmarked for the supply of green hydrogen. Under the EU clean energy package, Ireland has to maintain a baseline 16% renewable energy level in each year and meet trajectory points in 2022, 2025, 2027 and 2030, as set out in the national energy and climate plan. Under CAP21, at least a further 4 GW of additional onshore wind energy is required without taking into account the potential decommissioning of existing sites over the coming years. According to industry sources, there is an estimated 10 GW of onshore wind projects in the development pipeline. A supportive spatial planning framework for further onshore renewable development at national, regional and local level, as set out in the climate action plan, is essential to deliver on the onshore and solar generation targets.