Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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231. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will review the planning requirements for the erection of small wind turbines by householders in their back gardens; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44802/22]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Under the Planning and Development Act, 2000, as amended (the Act), all development, unless specifically exempted under the Act or associated Regulations, requires planning permission. Section 4 of the Act and Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended (the Regulations), set out various exemptions from the requirement to obtain planning permission. Any such exemptions are subject to compliance with any general restrictions on exemptions set out in the Act or the Regulations and to the specific conditions set out in each class of exempted development in Schedule 2 of the Regulations.

Class 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the Regulations provides an exemption for the construction, erection or placing within the curtilage of a house of a wind turbine. The exemption is subject to a range of conditions and limitations set out in further detail in Class 2, which include factors such as:limiting to one the number of turbines that may be erected within the curtilage of the house;

- the total height of the turbine shall not exceed 13 metres;

- the supporting tower shall be a distance of not less than the total structure height (including the blade of the turbine at the highest point of its arc) plus one metre from any party boundary;

- noise levels must not be exceeded.

Any development of this nature which falls outside of the Class 2 exemption and the conditions and limitations attached to it are subject to planning permission.

Exemptions from the requirement to obtain planning permission in respect of specific forms of development are provided for, when they are considered to be consistent with proper planning and sustainable development. The exemptions provided for in the Regulations are kept under regular review and I have no plans to amend the Class 2 exemption provisions at this time.