Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 April 2021
483. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department collects data on the estimated number of birds killed on an annual basis by coming into contact with onshore and off-shore wind turbines; if so, if he will provide such data; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21887/21]
View answerWhen granting planning permission for wind turbines or wind farms, planning authorities may in some cases include post-construction monitoring as a condition of that planning permission. Carcass searching around the base of some or all of the turbines in the target wind-farm may be part of such post-construction monitoring.
Such data, as a condition of planning consent, would generally be supplied to the planning authorities; my Department does not have a role in its collection.
However, the draft Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan, currently being finalised in my Department, sets out the need for a centralised repository for reports of this data to help inform the conservation management of Hen Harrier and other terrestrial bird species that may interact with turbines.
