Renewable Energy Generation
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-29
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Martin Heydon (FG), Kildare South

I will make a last reference to St. Brigid. I was jesting earlier. Kildare and Louth will both enjoy our public holiday next week, the third since it was established. I fought hard in government for the public holiday for St. Brigid. It makes great sense in many ways. With Councillor John Reilly and the community in Faughart and the broader area, we all share in the legacy of Brigid. There is a phenomenal opportunity for tourism and so on in that story, even beyond our shores. We all share that in Kildare, Louth and beyond.
There are different elements to the question the Deputy is posing, and all are relevant. TAMS support for the rooftop solar scheme was largely for large energy users on farms to offset against large energy bills. Not every farmer has a large energy bill. If you are dairy farmer, you certainly do. It has been an intensive cost on the TAMS budget. That budget is not infinite and has to be managed out to the end of 2027, hence the ranking and selection. My colleague, Deputy Peter Burke, the then Minister for planning, brought in an exemption for solar PV on rooftops of agricultural holdings in 2022 and that was a key component in Government facilitating this roll-out.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:34+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-29