Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I note the Senator's comments but I remind him that the current guidelines were adopted as recently as 2006. The Government recognises that they need to be reviewed and that is what we are doing. We have consulted widely with all stakeholders in this regard. We have received 7,500 submissions and, therefore, it is wrong to state the Government is making no effort. We are making every effort. We are carefully considering all the submissions and taking everything into account, including the advice of the Attorney General, because we need to be sure that everything we do in the context of the guidelines is constitutional. Ultimately, it is a decision of the planning authority, whether it is the local authority or An Bord Pleanála, to make those decisions. We will publish revised wind farm guidelines as soon as possible and I expect some progress on them in the near future.