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Dáil
‹ An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

Meenbog landslide and wind energy

Summary

Thomas Pringle raised the subject access request issue from the mother and baby homes commission and then the Meenbog peat landslide linked to wind farm construction. The Taoiseach said he would speak to the Minister about wind energy guidelines and the Mulcahy report.

Last week I asked the Taoiseach about the refusal by the commission on mother and baby homes of subject access requests. The Taoiseach responded by stating: “The Minister's bona fides were absolutely correct on that occasion ... I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy on the specific point he raised”. The first part of the answer was fallacious, and the latter part has not occurred.

I want to ask the Taoiseach about the major landslide of unstable peat caused by wind farm construction at Meenbog in Donegal. I know the Taoiseach is more than aware of this incident. It is just another example in a litany of poor planning decisions that have impacted Donegal over the years. This has eroded people’s faith in the planning system in the county. With this in mind there are two simple actions over which the Government has control. One is the finalisation of the wind energy guidelines review that has been ongoing since 2013. The other is the publication of the Mulcahy report into certain planning matters in Donegal that has been ongoing since 2015. During his term as Taoiseach will the Government commit to the finalisation and implementation of the wind energy guidelines review and the publication of the Mulcahy report into certain planning matters in Donegal? The Taoiseach's two predecessors and eight Ministers have failed to do so.

Comment on this

I will talk to the Minister on the wind energy guidelines and the publication of the Mulcahy report. I will follow those up for the Deputy. The wind energy guidelines have been considered by the Department for a long time now so I will talk with the Minister about those.

Comment on this