Vincent P Martin (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I wish to support my fellow Green Party Senators and also welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I thank him for giving us updates from time to time. I assure him that his words are recorded on the transcript, photocopied and sent out to dozens of people who are hanging onto every word he says regarding when this will actually happen. I welcome his reaffirmation in that regard today and his commitment. I recognise it is a complex challenge.

At the heart of the Bill are the words "exempt developments". With exemptions come due diligence. I accept all that. I also accept, as do all present, that harnessing solar energy is a key response to the energy crisis. To have such draconian restrictions in respect of the roofs of private dwellings, farms and schools makes no sense and, therefore, I am glad the Government is recommitting to this and it will happen as soon as feasibly possible. The Bill will go some way to redressing and tackling the climate crisis.

We are entering a new era. It is like a solar revolution that is akin to the industrial revolution. It is so important in this new and modern time that we bring people with us and everyone feels a sense of ownership and buy-in and embraces it. I do not want communities to tolerate it; I want them to embrace it, if it is done properly. Consultation will be at the heart of that, apart from in the context of the exempt developments we are discussing. It is so important that there are no reversals or a prolonged period of uncertainty with matters caught up in the courts. It might well be that the non-exempt developments of large-scale solar will pass planning, but if we do not have Government policy guidelines in respect of placement, volume, categorisation of land usage, which we do not at the moment, that will cause issues. Without drilling down too deeply, if the Supreme Court or any of the superior courts got their teeth into it, I am not sure where that would leave us. While it is critical that there are no reversals and that we embrace this, I do not want this revolution to be stymied in the absence of Government policy on those important matters coming down the road in respect of large-scale solar energy. I hope the Minister of State takes that on board. He may be able to indicate that guidelines are coming down the line, because they are in place in other countries from which we can take a lead. There is an need to put some order on it.

It should be a happy revolution. To have a happy revolution, order, certainty and ground rules must be at the heart of it. If that is not the case, it will prove counterproductive, could get lost in the courts and will end up going the same way as previous attempts, such as the ten years lost on wind energy. Solar energy is clean and green and to be embraced, but I emphasise that it must be done properly. I appreciate the diligence of the Minister of State in respect of the exempt developments, but the non-exempt ones are coming down the tracks speedily. It is so important that there be guidance and a direction from the Government in respect of what people can expect and know about those larger-scale developments.