John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Will the Leader see if it is possible for the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to come before the House at the earliest opportunity? We need to debate the issue of wind energy before any legislation on the matter is considered. When the Minister addressed the European Wind Energy Association conference in Vienna yesterday as part of Ireland's Presidency of the EU, he set out the opportunities in the sector from 2020 to 2050. On a number of occasions, Senator Kelly and other colleagues have raised the mounting concerns across the country - not least in the midlands - about some of the proposals that are being made. I support wind energy and renewables. It is important that we put viable and sustainable alternatives in place. It seems bizarre and inconsistent that the construction of over 2,500 turbines, each of which would be more 185 m tall, or larger than the spire, has been proposed as part of developments in small pockets of the midlands. All sorts of telephone numbers are being bandied around in terms of the kind of job creation there will be. It has been claimed that two or three projects will create over 70,000 jobs. Not for the world of me can I see how that is possible, even though it would be great to think that it would be so.

I commend the balanced and sustainable approach that is being taken by companies like Bord na Móna on cutaway bogs in places like Mount Lucas. It is important that we do not end up with another building boom, which could turn into a sort of "Con Air". Rather than having ghost estates, maybe we will have ghost wind farms dotted across the country. Perhaps nobody will be in a position to do anything about these rusting blights on the landscape. That would do huge damage to our visual, tourism and natural amenities.

I ask the Leader to arrange to have the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, before the House to discuss this matter. We need to calm down the situation. We must ensure that any wind farm developments which are heavily subsidised by the taxpayer are subsidised on a value basis, that cost-benefit analysis is undertaken and that the question of sustainability is at the core of any plans or projects we put in place.