Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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76. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the position regarding the draft interim regulations on solar panel installations; if he is conscious of the need to expedite this process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3302/22]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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My Department has advanced interim regulations, allowing for increased solar panel planning exemptions, which will cover the vast majority of the land area of the country, excluding limited zones around airports and aerodromes.

The draft interim regulations have been reviewed under the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive 2001/42/EC and it has been determined that they are likely to have significant effects on the environment, necessitating the undertaking of a full SEA on the draft proposals. It is anticipated that the formal SEA process will commence, with consultation with the statutory environmental authorities to inform the content of the Environmental Report, following the completion of the screening for Appropriate Assessment by my Department’s Ecological Assessment Unit. The SEA Environmental Report will be published alongside the draft regulations for a period of public consultation of not less than 4 weeks. This is expected to commence shortly.

As required under planning legislation, the proposed exempted development regulations must be laid in draft form before the Houses of the Oireachtas and receive a positive resolution before they can be made and the SEA process concluded. The process for finalising the interim solar panel planning exemptions is expected to be completed in Q2 2022.