6. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider placing a pause on all wind energy developments until the new wind energy guidelines are published; when he expects the revised guidelines to be published and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52740/25]

Sentiment score: 0.17

Communities have been waiting for many years for the publication of the revised wind farm guidelines. Will the Minister pause all wind farm developments until the guidelines are published? When will we see these guidelines published?

Sentiment score: 0.00

I am disappointed that more has not been done in terms of protecting the rights of communities. We are awaiting revised guidelines. The current guidelines give too much leeway to wind energy companies, which do not respect many communities. I commend everyone involved in the campaign relating to Mongan bog, which is a heritage site in my constituency of Offaly. This heritage site has links to the monastic site Clonmacnoise in County Offaly. A planned wind farm there is just ludicrous. The Minister of State mentioned a focused review, which I welcome. He also mentioned infrasound and shadow flicker, in respect of which there are significant issues. Many people have contacted me telling me that they just cannot bear the sound. Court cases have been taken regarding those issues. I hope that the revised guidelines are not published for the sake of ticking a box but do address the genuine and legitimate concerns of communities and the infrasound issue.

Sentiment score: 0.09

I know the Minister of State mentioned public consultation but many people do not take that seriously because their experience of public consultations is that they have not been respected. Constituents from north Offaly where there are issues with sound have contacted me. They have to move livestock in their fields. These people feel they are not listened to. If we are talking about public consultation, the number one priority is that it has to be meaningful. The second thing is that we have to ensure that communities are respected and protected and that we do not have instances where this infrasound issue is allowed to go on and on, which, unfortunately, has happened. I have raised the issue of wind energy repeatedly through parliamentary questions, most recently to the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment when I asked him whether he would provide information regarding reports on wind turbine noise. I also asked him to clarify his support for increased protection of persons affected by the noise. Rather astonishingly, the Minister admitted to me that the EPA had not commissioned any wind turbine modelling reports and that the only report the SEAI had published on the subject of wind turbine noise was an examination of the significance of noise. A lot more needs to be done on this issue.

Sentiment score: 0.21