Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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258. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if a strategic environment assessment is required in respect of drafting new guidelines for the wind energy industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11316/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In light of the commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Governmentto finalise the review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelinesand on-going policy and legal developments in this area, my Department is continuing to advance work on the proposed revisions to the Guidelines and related matters in conjunction with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, in order to bring the various issues to a conclusion as early as possible. I expect to be in a position to make a statement on the matter in the coming weeks, outlining the timelines for implementation of the various elements. As part of the overall review, and with regard to the recent ECJ Judgement in Case C-290/15 on the Belgian/Wallonian wind energy guidelines, it is proposed to undertake a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of the proposed revisions to the 2006 Guidelines - in accordance with the requirements of Directive 2001/24/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment - before they are finalised.