Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second Senator Mark Daly's amendment to the Order of Business. I also propose my own amendment, namely, that No. 21 be taken before No. 1. No. 21 is a Bill I drafted - I thank my colleagues, Senators Mark Daly and Diarmuid Wilson for co-signing it - in respect of what is a very live issue. Last December the then Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government with responsibility for planning announced her intention to review the planning guidelines for wind farms. As she acknowledged at the time, they are completely out of date and do not relate to the new type of wind turbines being used. Since the review was announced, quite a number of planning applications for wind farms have been submitted, either to local authorities or An Bord Pleanála. One such application is for the construction of 50 wind turbines in north County Meath. The position is unclear on which guidelines will actually apply to these applications. The Bill I have drafted proposes that where the Minister announces his or her intention to revise, change or amend guidelines, An Bord Pleanála cannot make a decision until new guidelines are published. Effectively, I am seeking a moratorium on the consideration of the applications to which I refer until the guidelines have been published.

I encourage the new Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to publish good and acceptable guidelines as soon as possible. There is a gap and there appears to be a real rush to have planning applications accepted before the guidelines become relevant in terms of the types of turbine now in use. Communities throughout the country are of the view that people are riding roughshod over them. Planning permission for the construction of wind farms was recently granted in south County Meath and County Laois. I understand an application will be submitted very soon for the massive project in north County Meath to which I refer and which was originally part of the deal to export energy to which the former Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, used to refer and which was cancelled prior to the local elections. One week after the elections another application for planing permission was made, but on this occasion it was stated the project was been designed to service the requirements of the Irish domestic energy market.

There is a great deal happening in this area, but very little is being done to regulate the position. The former Minister of State acknowledged that the planning guidelines relating to this matter were out of date. I would like her former Department to publish good and acceptable guidelines. In addition, there is a need for a moratorium on the consideration of applications until the guidelines have been published. I drafted my Private Members' Bill immediately after attending a public meeting held in Carlanstown, County Meath last week. I wrote the legislation overnight and have already identified a number of issues which arise and which will require amendment. I would be open and look forward to amendments from other Members if the legislation proceeds beyond Second Stage.