Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 23 February 2022
114. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the progress being made towards the resolution of the European Court of Justice ruling in case C-261/18 relating to Derrybrien Windfarm; the next steps that must be taken to ensure compliance with the ruling in that case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10248/22]
View answerA decision on the substitute consent application for the Derrybrien Wind Farm in County Galway, the subject matter of the Court of Justice of the EU's ruling in case C-261/18, was signed by An Bord Pleanála (the Board) on Friday 4 February 2022.
In their decision, the Board refused to grant substitute consent for ESB’s wind farm, which ends the statutory process seeking to retrospectively regularise the environmental impact assessment (EIA) status of the wind farm. The Board's decision has been notified to all parties to the case, as well as being made available on the Board's website.
Planning legislation specifies that a development that has been refused substitute consent is deemed to be an ‘unauthorised development’ that shall be subject to planning enforcement by the relevant planning authority, which enforcement process shall require, among other things, the cessation of activity on site.
ESB has since confirmed through their line department, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), that the operation of ESB's wind farm at Derrybrien has been paused from 15 February 2022 following the decision by An Bord Pleanála to refuse to grant substitute consent, and that ESB is continuing to review the details of the decision.
My Department's officials are working closely with officials in DECC and with the Office of the Attorney General, and will engage with counterparts in the European Commission as soon as possible to clarify the status of Ireland's compliance with the judgement in Case C-261/18 as a result of the Board's decision to refuse substitute consent.
