Ryan calls for new wind guidelines to be published
Sinn Féin TD for Kildare South, Patricia Ryan, has called on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to publish revised wind energy development guidelines as soon as possible.
Patricia said:
“I asked the Minister a Parliamentary Question back in September and this week I have asked a similar question and I have received a similar answer. We need to see progress on this, the public consultation finished almost a year ago and it seems like little has been done since. We have communities all over the country living in the shadow of impending and current planning applications.”
“It should not take this long to publish the guidelines. This week we have seen an application for five mega turbines submitted to Kildare County Council in the beautiful area of Umeras, between Monasterevin and Rathangan. Turbines of up to 169 metres high have no place in such a scenic area. The Barrow Blueway is close by, and a feasibility study is currently being carried out for Umeras Peatland Park. We need to have areas in our County Development Plan designated for wind farms so that are beauty spots are not ruined.”
“My Sinn Féin colleague, Deputy Brian Stanley, brought a Bill to the Dáil last November which sets out rules for wind farms. The Wind Turbine Regulation Bill 2020 will ensure safe setback distances. We are proposing a minimum distance of ten times the height of the turbine to the tip of the blade. Noise levels will be within the WHO limits and shadow flicker from a propeller will not be permitted to pass over a house. In line with practices across Europe, our Bill provides local communities within 4km the opportunity to buy shares in the project and to receive a dividend.”
“It is unfair to residents of places like Umeras that updated guidelines has not been published,” she concluded.
Link to Parliamentary Question:
https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2021-01-20/204/#pq_204