Nolan says sacrificing communities to meet Government’s wind turbine ambitions will not be tolerated

INDEPENDENT TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan has said that she is deeply concerned at reports that the Cabinet is preparing to sign off on a review of regulations that would make it easier for inshore wind turbines to be constructed in and around rural communities in order to meet wind energy targets contained within the Government's climate action plan.

Deputy Nolan has been working with local communities in Offaly, including groups opposed to the development of the Leamonaghan Wind Farm development which proposes to build 17 turbines with an overall tip height of 220 metres.

“I have been raising this matter for a number of years now and at all times I have stressed the importance of community consultation, specifically with respect to the potential for wind farms to effectively destroy historic and archaeological value some sites like Leamonaghan,” said Deputy Nolan.

“I will be insisting to both Minister Eamon Ryan and indeed Minister Darragh O’Brien, who are the Ministers that will eventually have to sign off on these plans, that they simply cannot ride roughshod over the worries that communities have around flicker and noise.

“We know that the process of so-called public consultation on the impact of wind energy guidelines, especially around wind turbines, began in early December 2019. That consultation closed in February 2020, and yet here we are now, effectively waiting for the hammer to fall. What was the point of it all if communities are simply to be set aside? This kind of dismissive and patronising attitude will not be tolerated and it will be resisted,” Deputy Nolan concluded.