Lorraine Higgins (Labour)

I welcome the Minister to the House to hear our views on the proposed introduction of legislation for wind turbines. This is an issue which has concerned both my Labour colleagues and I to the extent that we felt strongly about rectifying the current situation. I commend them on showing unequivocal foresight and unanimity on progressing the matter.

As we are all aware, the erection of wind turbines is a cost-effective way of generating electricity in households. Wind is free and, arguably, there is a lot of it in this country. Once one pays for the initial installation of a turbine, electricity costs are significantly reduced. Not only that, there is a potential for proprietors of turbines to export any excess electricity to their local grid and get paid for it. However, as I understand it this country is somewhat behind in terms of capitalising on this resource and we must rectify the situation as soon as possible.

Colleagues have referred to a number of negative attributes attaching to the erection of wind turbines. That is why as a group we consider it necessary for further regulation of them. The noise of the blades rotating can be akin to bass notes from loud music or the sound of a helicopter at a distance. A group of turbines rotating together can produce sounds of greater effect when they synchronise. There is no doubt that residents in surrounding areas can be disturbed and distressed by such. To date, without targeted regulation there has been no success in reducing the noise, which can continue largely unabated day and night for extended periods and can sometimes travel several miles. A well-established body of evidence has been collected worldwide that demonstrates the harmful effect of turbines for at least some of those who live close to them. In the United Kingdom, UK, in particular, complaints are made continuously to the environmental health officers of local authorities such that in February 2009 the renewable energy foundation produced a roll of 27 out of 133 wind farms in the UK which had given rise to noise complaints. The number subsequently rose to 46 out of 217 complaints relating to wind farms in April 2010, with 285 complaints in total having been recorded. This must be of concern to us given that there are recognised health problems arising from such, for example, pulse irregularity and sleep disturbance.

Not only do the erection of wind turbines or wind farms affect people's health but they also affect the geography of an area and its flora and fauna. We only have to look at the situation in Derrybrien in County Galway where there was a landslide in 2008 as a result of a failure to carry out an environmental impact assessment prior to granting permission for a wind farm there. Approximately 450,000 cu. m of peat became dislodged over a 32 km area which led to the pollution of a river in the area killing 50,000 fish. At the very least we need to legislate for this finding by the European Court of Justice in order that a disaster of this magnitude will never affect any part of this country again.

However, while we debate the regulation of wind turbines we must be mindful that debate over governmental regulations should be more broad based and focus more on engineering issues and robust scientific evidence and less on politics. We must call for more research into aerodynamic modulation which is the swishing noise made by turbine blades. Currently, the causes and treatment of the problem needs further research. Turbines are designed in all shapes and sizes and we must take that into account when framing legislation. We must also go further than the current Bill and look at the situation in Scotland whereby it is not permissible for anyone to erect a wind turbine farm within 2 km of the edge of cities, towns and villages. We should look at that as being a standard bearer for all wind farm developments in this country in the future. It is essential that we retain such a separation distance in order to curtail visual impact. While impacts vary considerably depending on the scale of projects and the proposed location it is imperative that we ensure that we do not allow for significant long-term detrimental impact on the amenity of people living nearby. I commend the Bill to the House.