Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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98. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if there are any restrictions on planning for housing being built beside wind turbines. [54051/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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In making decisions on a planning application for any type of development, a planning authority, or the Board as appropriate, must consider the proper planning and sustainable development of the area having regard to the provisions of the local development plan, any submissions or observations received from the public and the statutory consultees, and any relevant Ministerial or Government policies as well as any planning guidelines issued by my Department. Planning authorities must then make their own decisions, based on the specific merits or otherwise of individual planning applications.

The current Wind Energy Development Guidelines 2006 do not provide for a mandatory minimum setback distance between wind turbines and residential dwellings. However, in the context of, and in addition to, noise limits, they indicate - for the purpose of protecting residential dwellings in noise sensitive locations and for visual amenity purposes - an advisory minimum setback distance of 500 metres between each wind turbine and the nearest point of the curtilage of any residential property in the vicinity of the proposed development.

My Department is currently undertaking a focused review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines. The review is addressing a number of key aspects including setback distance, noise, shadow flicker, community obligation, community dividend and grid connections.

It should be noted that Action EL/23/4 of the Climate Action Plan 2023 Annex of Actions contains a commitment to having new draft Guidelines prepared by the end of Q4 2023, with revised Guidelines to be published in 2024.

When finalised, the revised Guidelines will be issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, or subject to enactment of the Planning and Development Bill 2023, as a National Planning Statement, as appropriate. In the meantime, the current 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines remain in force.