John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I commend my Green Party colleagues, Senators Pauline O’Reilly, Garvey and Martin, on bringing forward this Bill which will amend Parts 1 to 3, inclusive, of Schedule 2 to the Planning and Development Regulations in order to remove planning restrictions that relate to the installation of solar panels on public buildings, schools, homes, business premises and agricultural buildings.

I would echo much of the comments made by Senator Dooley. What the Bill proposes is a no-brainer. There is no question about that. Under the proposals in Bill before us homes will be able to install a larger array of solar panel. Currently, it is restricted to 12 sq. m or 50% of the roof area. Likewise, industrial buildings, businesses and agricultural buildings, in particular, will be able to install them. This is an area where our rural and agricultural sector can have a positive impact on reducing carbon emissions. I hope when we debate the climate Bill later in the week that sector will be credited for reducing its energy requirements through the installation of these panels. Panels will be able to be installed on the ground up to the 4 m in height. As referenced, technology in this area is improving rapidly. It is now possible to get roof slates that incorporate solar panels. I was given a demonstration of that. A Waterford company, Redfoot Roofing, has the patent for new lock roof slates, which open up the possibility of being able to install solar panels on protected structures because it does not impact on roofline of the building because it is incorporated in the slate. Technology in this area will continue to rapidly evolve in the coming years. We are very far behind in the use of solar energy compared to our European counterparts. Any time one visits any of our European neighbours all one can see on roofs is solar panels regardless of whether one visits a rural or urban area. We need to step up to the mark in terms of solar energy.

As Senators Garvey and Dooley referenced, solar panels do not need sunshine to work, they work on the basis of light. We are very well placed in Ireland to benefit from solar energy. The word "solar" and its reference to the sun probably catches many people out. Perhaps we should rephrase the term. In order to meet our 70% targets for 2030 we will have to get serious about solar energy.

The planning permissions currently required for such installation are an impediment to investing in this area. It is unacceptable that schools and farms, in particular, are being locked out from the move to green energy by the existing barriers in terms of planning permission.

I understand the Minister of State's Department stated it needs to carry out a detailed aviation safeguarding map, which will take a further nine months to develop, and in meantime interim regulations will be put in place, which will take five to six months, by the end of this year. That is an unacceptable timeline. I would echo previous comments made to push the Department on the timelines for this. Any issues regarding glint or glare can be readily addressed. There is no reason we cannot put an exclusion area in place around our existing airports and open this up to the remainder of the country. We have a limited number of airports in the country. There is no reason the rest of the country outside those areas cannot benefit immediately from the removal of the requirement for planning permission.

I acknowledge the consultation on the micro-generation support scheme to enable individuals in communities to sell their renewable electricity such as that generated from solar panels and that the summary report of submissions has been published. The timetable set out for the auctions for March, July and September of next year is not ambitious enough in terms of our getting serious about solar energy. If there is an issue with resources in the Department, I ask that it be addressed. It is urgent we tackle this issue. I commend my colleagues on bringing the Bill before us and ask that action on it be expedited