Planning Issues
Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-23
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Christopher O'Sullivan (FF), Cork South-West

I would like to correct the record. I said there were 28 planning statements in the pipeline. Although there is a large number of planning statements, I was incorrectly reading a reference to "section 28". I correct the record on that point.
I totally understand the concern of the public out there. I totally understand the concern of people who are potentially living near proposed solar farms. That is an issue. There is a planning process in place at the moment that takes a lot of these concerns into account, including how visually obtrusive a development might be and other aspects that are relevant to planning. At the same time, offshore renewable energy is still a way off. It is something that we are focused on achieving and we are making progress there under the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. However, we still need a big mix of renewable energy, especially in the middle of a fuel crisis when we are relying on fossil fuels.
We have had a lot of objections - let us call a spade a spade - to wind turbines. We are now starting to see objections creep into areas where solar farms are planned. We are going to have to make some tough decisions. It is not going to be easy. The Senator is absolutely right that the national planning statement will help the likes of us when we are going back to our constituents who have concerns. However, I wholeheartedly disagree with the idea of a moratorium because of our need to ramp up renewable energy.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-09-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-23