Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim céad fáilte roimh an Aire agus táim thar a bheith buíoch dó as teacht isteach ar an gceist tábhachtach seo. Mar atá a fhios aige, ardaíonn muid ceisteanna faoi mhuilte gaoithe go minic sna Tithe. Baineann an cheist seo le forbairt san earnáíl sin.

The question I am raising is in relation to the development of the wind energy sector in Ireland. It is an issue that is raised in this House frequently because there is quite a number of Senators who have concerns around the area of wind development. At the moment there seems to be a huge push to develop wind farms in many rural areas. I am particularly concerned about the speed of development in Connemara. We have planning applications going through in Moycullen for a 67-turbine wind farm. We have also seen other applications for wind farms going up across Connemara and land being bought up. Many of the local people are raising issues with me about the impact of the wind farms on their health and lives. In some cases, there seem to be delays or discrepancies between environmental impact statements and planning permissions. It seems that turbines were added to a number of the developments before the planning was sanctioned. We are looking into areas like that and are not yet clear as to whether the environmental impact statements were updated to include the new wind turbines and the effects of light flicker and noise pollution in particular.

When I was looking into this issue, I contacted the EPA because a number of local residents felt the light flicker they were experiencing was a lot greater than had been put in the proposals by the development companies. We wanted to find out who was actually monitoring this, and thought the EPA might have a role. However, when we contacted the EPA we were told that it does not have any ongoing role in monitoring light flicker or sound emissions. When we contacted the county councils, they were not too eager to go there, to be quite honest. It is an area that needs to be looked at because there are a number of issues around this.

The issue of the national strategic environmental assessment of wind energy development was also raised with me. A number of people requested that I ask the Minister whether a national strategic environmental assessment has been done on the development of wind farms. It is felt that a lot of the developers are pushing forward very quickly because of the end of tax breaks late next year, and that many developments are being fast forwarded. People have concerns about the numbers of turbines going up in areas of scenic amenity like Connemara. There are concerns over archaeological issues; archaeological sites are being trampled over, to be quite honest.

People are raising these objections through the planning process, but sometimes they feel the consultation that is done by the private companies involved leaves a lot to be desired. Sometimes site notices are put in places where they are not very visible. The engagement between the companies and landholders, where people are asked to sign an option or contract which basically gags them from speaking about having talked to a company, divides communities in a number of cases. I have had people come and tell me that they sense people are being bought out; they sign a contract forbidding them from speaking to their neighbours about having talked to companies. There are concerns around that.

I understand that if this national strategic environmental assessment is not in place, there could be issues around the legality of some of the planning permissions. I am looking forward to the Minister's response and am very grateful.

Tá mé thar a bheith buíoch don Aire as teacht isteach agus táim ag súil go mór lena fhreagra.