On a point of order, where are the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Browne, and the Minister for the environment, Deputy O’Brien? Neither of them is in the Chamber. That is no disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, who is here and is fielding a lot of issues. It is disrespectful to the Chamber that neither Minister is here for an issue as important as this, but that is where we are at. I wanted to express that.

Sentiment score: -0.10

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time". The absence of guidelines or regulations for wind turbines is absolutely scandalous. We have been relying on outdated guidelines from 2006 for over a decade and a half. The Bill is about putting a proper planning framework in place. It is not about stopping the utilisation of wind but having wind turbines in the right place and at the right scale. Four governments have come and gone. We are on government No. 5 and no action has been taken. We have had paralysis by the Government on this issue for over a decade and a half. This is what Micheál Martin said on the matter in the Dáil in 2013: There is a fundamental absence of transparency governing these developments. There is an absence of consultation with local residents and communities. [He said this was a scandal] Above all, there is an absence of a legislative framework to deal with the step change in technology and scale of development. He cited concerns about the health impacts of shadow flicker, noise, and so on. I could keep quoting from his speech from that day, but that is what he said. The replies I am getting here for 13 years are the very same. The most recent one I got from the Minister stated that his "Department is currently undertaking a focused review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines", which is looking at a number of key issues including the noise aspect of the guidelines, which is highly technical in nature. That is the same reply I have been getting for the last 12 years. Meanwhile, these giant turbines have sprung up all over the country, particularly in the midlands and especially in Laois and Offaly. They cover huge tracts of land and their scale has massively increased since the 2006 guidelines were put in place. At that stage, turbines were 30 m or 35 m in height but they are now multiples of that and reach 185 m in height. Some are located only metres from rural homes. They are mainly owned and directed by large foreign investment funds, which are riding roughshod over local communities. Where they meet opposition, they will often bribe or try to bribe a section of the community and use their clout to browbeat the remainder of the community. They are taking advantage of the absence of regulations or even guidelines. They behave as if it is the gold rush and grab the opportunity. Of course they are going to do that. This is a huge problem for rural communities. I mentioned Laois and Offaly in particular. At the moment, a huge number of wind turbines are planned right across the area of the south Laois-Kilkenny border. These turbines can be put up in close proximity. People have to put up with the noise, shadow flicker and the sterilisation of surrounding lands. Once the wind turbines are erected, even on their own land a son or daughter cannot get planning permission to build on the family farm because of the proximity of the turbines. Along with inaction from the Department and the Department of local government, all three of the largest parties have sat on their hands. While the Government has been in a state of paralysis, the largest Opposition party has not moved on it either. When I tried to introduce a similar Bill nearly five years ago, time was allocated on a Wednesday, but it was stopped at that time by the leader of that party. I hope Sinn Féin is able to do better than that today. I hope they can support this Bill. I was told at the time that it was due to the fear of media reaction. It is the people who elect us, not the media and they are who we need to represent. The Irish Wind Energy Association, which represents wealthy investors, has done an excellent job. The association is regularly in and out of these buildings. The propaganda is all persuasive until we dig deeper. A lot of people seem to be taken in by it. Planning is a balance. As I said at the outset, this is not about stopping it; it is about having a balance in the planning system which is not there at the moment. Many constituents have asked me who exactly is in charge. That is an interesting question. Wind energy is important, but we must use utilise it along with other renewable sources. The Government has focused almost exclusively on wind. While it is a good source of clean energy, it is intermittent. That can lead to surges on the grid when there is plenty of wind and turbines have to be shut down. More than 10% of electricity is unused but it has to be paid for and the cost amounts to billions. If we look at the figures for what has been paid over the last five years, it was €263 million in 2021 and last year it was €251 million. It is a sizeable amount of money that is being paid out. Little effort has been made to develop solar, anaerobic digestion, hydro, hydrogen, or offshore energy. They are only in their infancy, and some have not even started. Regulation for solar energy is being drafted and while that needs to be done, what is happening in terms of wind turbines? At times we were told that the delay in the guidelines or regulations is due to difficulty sorting out the appropriate level of noise to be allowed, but it has been a full decade and a half. In terms of Ministers, I remember debating this with Phil Hogan in this Chamber, and Alan Kelly, Denis Naughten, Richard Bruton, Eamon Ryan and now Darragh O'Brien. Six Ministers have come and gone and we are on the fifth government and still there are no guidelines. This is inexcusable. It is fine if people want to amend the Wind Turbine Regulation Bill 2025 that I am bringing forward. I am not saying it is exactly what we need, but a good bit of work has gone into it and it would certainly put some shape on this and go a long way towards what we need. Section 3 deals with the location of wind turbines. It must be consistent with local county development plans. Despite what Ministers say, that is not happening at the moment. Wind turbines are being put in areas that are not designated under county development plans. Indeed, these companies are riding roughshod over the county development plans. That must happen because as Members know, those plans are made by democratically elected local councillors and it is important that local democracy is upheld. Section 4 sets out in detail the need for public consultation and a number of measures to be taken in terms of public notices, providing for a non-technical assessment to be made available, the potential impact of the proposed construction on the host community, the measures to prevent and to reduce that effect, the length of time of the construction and the planning gain for the local community. Section 4 sets out in great detail that there must be greater consultation. Section 5 deals with noise and shadow flicker. This is very important because we know it is a real problem. At the moment there are houses where shadow flicker passes over them. This is unfair to residents. The Bill clearly sets out that they need to be located far enough from dwellings but that is not happening. We must protect the residents. Section 6 specifies that any turbine over 30 m in height can only be located a distance of not less than 7.5 times the height of the turbine. It is really important that we set that down because that is not being complied with in any way at the moment. It is really important that what is outlined in section 6 is put in place. Section 7 deals with transitional matters in terms of the duties of planning authorities. It sets out their responsibilities, including An Coimisiún Pleanála. Section 8 sets out penalties that can be set by the Minister. That is important. The Minister would do that by way of statutory instrument, in terms of setting the level of responsibility. Section 9 sets out that companies must provide financial evidence in terms of being able to put up bonds. Section 10 deals with responsibility for decommissioning. Very importantly, section 11 provides for co-ownership. Wind turbine developers shall provide an opportunity for local residents to purchase up to a 10% stake in wind turbine developments as part of a community co-operative model of wind turbine. The initial development has to be offered to residents who live within a 4 km radius of the turbines. After that, they can be offered to people outside that radius. It is really important that it happens. The Bill provides for a number of measures to give people the necessary protections. I will deal first with the noise issue. The World Health Organization, WHO, has guidelines on international best practice. This is the crux of the matter and what is holding things up. In 2017 we had the launch of the preferred draft approach. In 2020, the Government set a target that 40% of renewable energy would come from onshore wind. That is very doable. We could probably do even more than that. In 2021, the Government doubled that to 80% and stated that 80% of all renewable energy would come from onshore wind. That is not doable and it would require standing proper planning on its head. That is what is happening. The casualty there has been the noise limits set by the World Health Organization, WHO, which have been shredded. They could not be allowed to get in the way of totally unrealistic targets. If we were in any doubt about this, we have a letter here from the HSE that set this out very clearly to the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, on 20 November 2025. The letter sets out very clearly what it means. I also have an exchange of letters between the then Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, and the then Minister for the environment, former Deputy Eamon Ryan. In a letter of 18 November 2021, it is stated that these noise limits, the WHO ones, were agreed in the context of 2020 targets to generate 40% of electricity from renewable sources. It went on to say that as in so many other cases of public policy, the current context was fundamentally altered in the light of our ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51%, which we all support, over a period from 2018 to 2020. It further set out that to achieve this, the greenhouse gas emissions reductions target we have through the national development plan set out a quota to generate 80% of our electricity from renewable sources. This means that because we have not developed the other sources I mentioned earlier, we are relying almost totally on onshore wind. The correspondence continues by stating that to achieve this target, the 2021 climate action plan set an indicative target of 8 GW for onshore energy by 2030, and that it had to be doubled. This is the crux of what is going on here. The Government and senior officials in the Department have been hopping from one foot to the other for the last 14 or 15 years on this issue, but particularly in the last five years. Deputies from the Government benches need to take this on board. We have to make a decision on it. When there are no guidelines, never mind regulations, these companies behave as if it is a gold rush. If we have a situation where no system is in place, then anything goes. What is there at the moment is as weak as dishwater. Do not let anyone ever tell you anything else. These companies, their solicitors, their planning experts and all the consultants they have hired are on top of this game. There is big money in this and big investment firms behind it. Bord na Móna has been somewhat better in taking the concerns of local communities into consideration. Some people might dispute it, but that has been my experience. Deputy Nolan might have a different experience in County Offaly, where some may not have been happy with it. Generally, though, Bord na Móna works better with local communities. This Bill is what we need to do. If we do not have legislation, we need to put a moratorium on developments until we do have proper legislation, regulations and guidelines in place. I appeal to the Minister of State and the Government to grasp the nettle on this issue once and for all and stop chasing something it cannot do, namely, providing 80% of renewable energy through onshore wind. We need to bring on solar power, hydrogen, anaerobic digestion and all the other methods that can be used. The Government will not be able to achieve its aim without getting the backs up of local communities right across the country, including in County Cavan, where the Minister of State lives.

Sentiment score: 0.08

I thank everybody for their contributions. I have listened very carefully to what people have had to say. The debate has been constructive but we need to move from discussion and debate to action. I will be pressing the Bill because I think we have kicked to touch too many times on this already. The Minister of State mentioned that significant progress has been made; it has not. She mentioned that the noise issue is causing the delay. I do not have the exact wording but it is in the script. That is the issue. Are we going to ignore World Health Organization guidelines so as to allow these international investors to plant turbines to export energy overseas? I do not have a problem with exporting energy. If we have a surplus, then by all means we should. I fully supported the Celtic interconnector. I remember going to France seven or eight years ago about it, as part of an Oireachtas delegation, to meet the electric company over there. Representatives from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and I went there. It is a great idea, but the problem is we just cannot keep putting this back. The Minister of State mentioned that the 2006 guidelines are still there, but they include a 400 m setback. We are now getting to a point where if one of these turbines fell, it would nearly hit a house because they are so high. This is causing real problems. The reason we have to get this 80% from onshore wind, and I remember arguing this with Phil Hogan in this Chamber, and he is gone out of here a good while, is because we have not developed the other sources. Offshore has not happened, except for the Arklow one, which is there a number of years. The amount of solar is minuscule, and with anaerobic digestion we are only in the thought process part of it, and we have a huge problem with animal waste. The Minister of State knows that from being in government. We have a huge problem. What do we do? We have a very strong agricultural sector and that is good, but we have a problem with agricultural waste. A lot of that waste can be utilised for biogas. That is what they are doing in other countries and we should be doing the same. We have not even really got going with hydrogen yet. Solar, as I said, is really only starting. The top boys and girls in the Department have dismissed hydro over the years, yet we built Turlough Hill in the 1970s and had to pump water up to it, and it provides peak electricity. My point is that we are in a situation where all of these sources have to be used and that is why we have boxed ourselves into a corner where we are being told that, to meet our obligations, we have to produce 80% from onshore wind. That is actually questionable. A lot of this is being done to export. Deputy Heneghan mentioned how a lot of the excess generation is being wasted when all the turbines are going and the grid cannot take it. That is the nature of the wind: it is intermittent. It is a brilliant source of energy. I support it but it has to be done with other sources. We cannot put all of our eggs into one basket and that is what Government has done. Communities in Wolfhill, Spink, Timahoe, Ballinakill, Durrow and Cullahill and right across north Kilkenny are now facing into these situations. Some communities had to take judicial reviews, costing €60,000 or €70,000, which they had to raise. People had to go to the Four Courts, and that is not a planning system we should have. When we have to go there, it is all over. That is not what we should have to do. We need to have a better system in this country. If we do it in partnership with people, they can be brought along. If they have a stake in things, it is different. Deputy Fleming mentioned that there may be difficulties regarding the 10% ownership. I take on board what he is saying, but I would also point out that Templederry in County Tipperary is completely community owned. They are not worried about that. They are doing very well out of it. There are 28 shareholders, including the local GAA club and other clubs in the area. The rest of them are local people who invested in it. They are not bothered about that. They know that this is a good bet and it is working out for them. They got in at a time when wind turbines were not as efficient as they are now. They are even more profitable now that the Chinese manufacturers have really upped the game, as they have done with solar panels. We have not even started with the whole issue of biogas from farm waste. We have not even started to get that now. Farming organisations and the Department are now starting to look at it and I welcome that, but we are coming late to all of these things. These trains were coming down the track at us, and what did we do? We did nothing and the Government is moving too slow on a range of things. The pace is glacier-like. That is the one thing I find frustrating. As a member of a county council, which I know is on a smaller scale, but I could get things done in a week sometimes, or a month or year. In here it sometimes takes forever and a day to get things moving. That is not the way it should be. One of the Sinn Féin speakers mentioned that it would put up the price of electricity but did not explain how. I support the idea mentioned by Deputy Heneghan. Like a lot of other countries, if we had a national energy company, we would be trying to utilise this. Some 40 years ago, 95% of our electricity was in public ownership. My understanding is that is down to 25%. We had one of the lowest electricity prices in the European Union 40 years ago when 95% of electricity was in public ownership. We now hover in the top three or four highest electricity prices in the EU. That has not been very good for customers and householders. I fully support using renewable energies. I fully support using wind. One speakers said I stated there were flaws in the Bill. I did not say that; I said people might want to amend this Bill. Some Members might have misunderstood what I was saying. No legislation, including what comes from Government is ever perfect on the first draft. However, a lot of work has gone into it. It is not something that was put together in a week or a month or even six months. If Government or Opposition Members want to amend it, I am open to working with them but we have to try to change this and put a system in place. I cannot figure out what has happened to the Taoiseach. Reading a transcript of his from 2013, he said many of the things I and other speakers, such as Deputies Nolan and Fleming, have said today. As Taoiseach, he has a special responsibility to drive this and push it on. Local groups have not been a bunch of NIMBYs. Most of the people involved just want a little bit of fair play. Many of those groups have spent nights researching information and putting legal cases together, which they should not have to do. They network and try to fundraise and everything like that. They put in huge work and I want to recognise that. We need to have people spending their time doing better things than that. Guidelines can be twisted and moulded. Stronger, newer, updated guidelines that take account of the advances in the scale and ginormous size of these turbines and the technology available now would be better. The issue of solar regulations came up at a meeting of the Joint [Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage] the other day. If we are going to regulate solar farms, which are less intrusive, why are we not doing it for these enormous turbines? The Minister of State said she wants me to kick the Bill down the road for 12 months but I am not agreeing to that. I am pressing this Bill. I believe we need to move on it now as we have been dancing around it for long enough. As I said in my opening contribution, what is delaying this is how Government, senior officials and industries are going to explain to communities that they are going to have to scrap the World Health Organization guidelines. That is not good enough. The first job we have here every day is to protect the health and welfare of the people who send us here. We are all Teachtaí Dála, whether we are Ministers, the Taoiseach, backbenchers, in opposition or whatever. That is our first job. The WHO guidelines are the standard. That is what we should be achieving and we should not be afraid to stick by them. I appeal to Deputies on all sides of the House to work together. If they want to amend the Bill, I am open to doing that. This is my first crack at it. I do not have the resources of a Department to draft this but I think most people will admit it is the best stab at one that has been made here in the past 15 years. Do not kick to touch. I am pressing the Bill to a vote.

Sentiment score: 0.05