Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will certainly take up my colleague's invitation to visit the town of Castlecoote. Perhaps when we are finished there, we could take Members on into north Leitrim and give them a tour to see some of the very good scenery there.

I call for a debate on the issue of wind farms, which has been called for previously. There are a number of problems in some areas where wind farms have been developed. I see a number of positives at present.

A wind farm is being developed in north Leitrim at present and up to 100 people have started working there in the last two weeks. This could be a huge opportunity for local communities and for people who want to get work in their local area. Also, when the wind farms are being developed it will put money into the local communities and help them to build community centres, football fields and the like. I acknowledge that where people are living close to wind farms there can be problems with noise and so on, but the hills in the west and north west of Ireland, far away from where people are living, are the places to develop those farms.