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Seanad
‹ An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

Regulation of solar farms

Summary

Senator Rabbitte calls for national planning guidelines and a debate on the regulation and development of solar farms.

I welcome the Acting Leader. Today, I am going to raise something that was raised yesterday with regard to the fuel crisis. It was raised formally by Senator Kennelly, and I am raising it here today as well. It relates to do with regulation and guidelines around solar farms. I am calling for a debate on solar farms. I am calling for the Minister, or one of the four Ministers in the Department of housing, to come before us. Last week's Commencement matter was enlightening for me to say the least to realise that the Department has not operationalised specific planning and guidelines comparable to the national wind energy development guidelines. I do not know what it is like in other counties, but I listened yesterday to Senator Flaherty on what it is like in the Chair's county, and I know in Galway that we have 1,000 acres in one particular location. We have multiple others, like the communities of Kiltormer, Moyvilla, Coxtown, Abbeyknockmoy and Monivea, under siege and under threat from sprawling solar farms. Everything is working off a county development plan and not working off proper planning regulations and guidelines to be set out by the relevant Department. The energy guidelines are set out by the Department of climate, but unfortunately the guidelines on solar farms are actually just working to the county development plan. Those guidelines are really for roof-based solar farms or solar appliances. The debate would be really welcome. There are many people on both sides of the House here who would like to contribute to it. It is incumbent on the Minister to come before us to tell us the plans about when we can relieve our people of the stress they are under in rural Ireland.

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