Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit ach bhí mé ag súil leis an Aire Ó Ceallaigh. I was hoping the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government would be in attendance but the Minister of State is attached to the Department, which is fair enough.

This is an important issue in respect of the guidelines with which An Bord Pleanála will have to comply in making decisions on planning applications for wind turbine developments, an issue which I have raised in the House previously. There has been an inordinate delay in revising the 2006 guidelines, which are out of date. Draft guidelines were published at the end of 2013 and little has happened since. I am sure work has been going on but it is a year and a half since the then Minister published draft guidelines, which were unacceptable, and there was a public consultation process after that. Little has happened with the exception of two applications being made to the board relating to north Meath. One is on appeal from the county council for a small development of large turbines near Nobber while the other application is by the Element power company for a massive development across north Meath.

What will be in the guidelines? RTE radio knew the other day and it had a good wind of what was happening. It is important that Parliament should know before a leak to RTE to try to help the Government parties and the Labour Party, in particular. We need to know whether the guidelines will be acceptable to local communities. What I hear about 700 m will not be acceptable and there are other issues surrounding the guidelines. What is the position on applications currently before An Bord Pleanála? Should the developers not withdraw them, presumably to comply with the revised guidelines, or is it the case that the old guidelines will continue to apply? No one will give a straight answer on this. One Fine Gael Deputy in Meath East says they will not apply while another Fine Gael Deputy says they will. The people deserve to know exactly what is going on in this regard because there should be fairness in planning. People should know what rules will apply. Will the Minister change the rules in the middle of the game to suit residents or will he leave the guidelines as they are to suit developers? That is the choice the Government has to make.

The 2006 guidelines are out of date and there has been criticism that Fianna Fáil should have revised them previously, but the reality is the turbines proposed for north Meath did not exist during the lifetime of the previous Government. They are brand new and it is about time the Government reacted properly to them. We need to know. There will be an oral hearing in Kells on 16 June. Anyone who will speak at the hearing will have to know what are the relevant planning guidelines. There is a planning application for another project before An Bord Pleanála, which is probably nearing decision. We need to know and there needs to be fairness. It is not good enough to say they will be published shortly because I have heard that at least twice during Commencement debates. We need to know the exact facts.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. Proposals for wind energy developments are subject to the statutory requirements of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, in the same manner as other proposed developments.Planning applications are made to the relevant local planning authorities, with a right of appeal to An Bord Pleanála. In the case of wind development proposals which meet the statutory threshold criteria for classification as strategic infrastructure developments under the Planning and Development Acts, applications must be submitted directly to An Bord Pleanála. Planning authorities, including An Bord Pleanála, are required to have regard to my Department's wind energy development guidelines, which were published in June 2006, in making determinations on wind farm development proposals. These guidelines provide advice to planning authorities on catering for wind energy through their development plans and the development management process. The guidelines are also intended to ensure a consistency of approach throughout the country in the identification of suitable locations for wind energy developments and the treatment of planning applications relating to such developments.

As the Senator noted, in December 2013 my Department published proposed draft revisions to the noise, setbacks and shadow-flicker aspects of the 2006 wind energy development guidelines. These draft revisions proposed the setting of a more stringent day-and-night noise limit of 40 decibels for future energy developments, a mandatory minimum setback of 500 m between a wind turbine and the nearest dwelling - for amenity considerations - and the complete elimination of shadow flicker between wind turbines and neighbouring dwellings. A public consultation process was initiated on these proposed draft revisions to the guidelines and this ran until 21 February 2014. My Department received submissions from 7,500 organisations and members of the public during this public consultation process. It is intended that the revisions to the 2006 wind energy development guidelines will be finalised as soon as possible. In this regard, account must be taken of the extensive response to the public consultation process in framing the final guidelines. Further work is also advancing to develop technical appendices to assist planning authorities with the practical application of the noise measurement aspects of the wind guidelines. The revisions to the wind energy development guidelines 2006, when finalised, will be issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. In the interim, the 2006 guidelines will continue to apply to existing planning applications, including those currently with An Bord Pleanála.

It is a matter for the relevant planning authority to make the appropriate determination in respect of a planning application or appeal, having regard to relevant planning guidelines issued by my Department. However, as indicated, these guidelines are issued for guidance purposes to assist planning authorities in the performance of their functions. Ultimately, it falls to planning authorities - be they the local planning authorities or An Bord Pleanála - to decide on individual applications based on the specific merits or otherwise of individual planning applications.

Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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There is no question but that the Minister of State's reply is extremely disappointing. We have moved on from a nod and a wink being given to wind farm developers to it being stated absolutely explicitly that the existing guidelines apply to those applications which are with An Bord Pleanála. This will come as a shock to some Fine Gael Deputies who earlier today informed us that the new guidelines would apply. It will certainly be a source of extreme annoyance to members of the public in north Meath that the cards are stacked against them, particularly because the guidelines to which the Minister of State refers really have no relevance regarding the kind of super-turbine it is proposed to build there. I am of the view that all planning existing applications should be the subject of a moratorium until the new guidelines are brought forward. When those guidelines emerge, we can then put in place a proper planning process. What is happening at present is completely improper.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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My knowledge of the planning process is that whatever is introduced does not apply retrospectively. If, therefore, a new guideline were to be introduced today, it would not apply to planning applications made previously.I also suggest to the Senator that if he seeks a moratorium on it, perhaps he needs to speak to the local authorities because, as indicated in the response and as the Minister has outlined, he is only issuing guidelines and that is what they are, namely, guidelines. It is up to the planning authority itself or in this case, the local authority, or An Bord Pleanála to adjudicate on individual planning applications. To my knowledge, this has always been the case.