10. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to outline his plans to draw up planning guidelines for solar farms for local authorities; to outline the discussions his Department has held with other Departments; if his Department have considered the EU's RED III directive within its plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65840/25]
Sentiment score: 0.01
120. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has considered drawing up planning guidelines for solar farms; if he will outline the stages in this process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65841/25]
Sentiment score: 0.01
This is an important question. On behalf of the people of Cork East, I want to ask about the position regarding the publication of solar guidelines. There has been an explosion in the number of solar projects across Cork East as a constituency, as well as in Deputy O'Sullivan's constituency of Cork North-Central and other parts of the country where developments have occurred, often at very large scale from 500 to 600 acres up to 2,000 acres. Could the Minister please give my constituents some clarity on this urgent matter?
Sentiment score: 0.33
I thank the Minister. I acknowledge that he has provided a response. As a TD, I have no issue with the need for renewable energy and the decarbonisation of our economy but when it comes in the form of using thousands of acres of land in highly commercial agricultural areas - the Cork East constituency has some of the best land in the country - that represents one issue, and the second issue is the scale of these developments. Other countries have pursued very smart strategies such as using the top of commercial and school premises and factories or non-agricultural lands to pursue these developments, but Ireland has a mismatch in terms of policy. Development is happening in areas where, ultimately, it is not the best use of that land or ground. Does the Minister see the point I am raising? In the east Cork area and other parts of the country, as other Deputies have raised, this is not happening in a prudent or productive way for the agricultural economy and n terms of the impact it is having on residents, given the size and scale of these developments. As I said, they potentially are upwards of 1,000 acres and in one case I am aware of, up to a maximum of 2,000 acres, which is larger than the Phoenix Park.
Sentiment score: 0.12
It will take more to deter us than a few cheap shots in op-eds in the Irish Examiner criticising me and others for having the courage to come in here and raise these matters. Deputy O'Sullivan is right that we need the guidelines. Local authorities need those guidelines and they need leadership from the Government. A message must go back to the custodians of the status quo who have let this matter carry on for so long, despite its being raised at parliamentary party level and ministerial level before the general election and again now, that we need answers. It seems to me we have been left in the lurch, unable to give constituents answers because we do not have those guidelines. There is a game of pass the parcel between the Department and local government when both need to come together to understand that the scale of development happening in areas such as my own in the Cork East constituency, and the rapid nature of those developments, requires urgent attention for reasons ranging from flooding to the large-scale size of the developments. As Deputy O'Sullivan rightly said, if someone wants to build a house on those lands, the planning process is far more tedious than it is when seeking to swallow up hundreds of acres for the development of these facilities.
Sentiment score: 0.11