Cabinet Committees
Dail Éireann — 2025-07-08
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James O'Connor (FF), Cork East

I wish to raise with the Government the rapid development of major solar installations across the east Cork area, part of my constituency. There are large numbers of developments in planning, under discussion or in negotiation that represent very significant land volumes, amounting to thousands of acres. Not to identify any one development but across the region north of Midleton, north of Youghal and Killeagh, developments are being actively pushed through. The concern I want to highlight is that Ireland's policy on this does not seem to take into account the quality of the agricultural ground and its importance to the sustainability of our agrifood network and system and the economic success these have achieved for rural Ireland over many years. Other European countries have rightly regulated this. We do not seem to be regulating so as not to put solar developments on lands deemed to have high quality soil and a high value in terms of agricultural produce, whether those lands pertain to dairy, tillage or other areas of agriculture. Could this be deemed by the Cabinet infrastructure committee to be a matter worthy of discussion given the economic importance of the agrifood sector to the country?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-07-08/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-07-08