Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 March 2017
396. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on a matter (details supplied) with regard to the ongoing review of the wind farm planning guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13411/17]
View answer397. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government when he will publish the new setback distances for wind turbines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13455/17]
View answer398. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the actions he will take to assist persons affected by shorter setback distances from wind turbines on existing developments when the new, more substantial setback distances are published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13456/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 396 to 398, inclusive, together.
In December 2013, my Department published proposed draft revisions to the noise, setback distance and shadow flicker aspects of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines. These draft revisions proposed:
- the setting of a more stringent day and night-time noise limit of 40 decibels for future wind energy developments,
- a mandatory minimum setback distance of 500 metres between a wind turbine and the nearest dwelling for amenity considerations, and
- the complete elimination of shadow flicker between wind turbines and neighbouring dwellings.
A public consultation process was also initiated on these proposed draft revisions to the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines, which ran until February 2014. The Department received submissions from 7,500 organisations and members of the public during this public consultation process.
In light of the commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government to finalise the Guidelines and on-going policy and legal developments in this area, my Department is continuing to advance work on the Guidelines and related matters in conjunction with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, in order to bring the various issues to a conclusion as early as possible. I expect to be in a position to make a statement on the matter in the coming weeks, outlining the timelines for implementation of the various elements.
