James O'Connor
Cork East · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“We have proposed a number of routes that will address issues in respect of communities and villages that are yet to be connected to local towns.”
“I raise the issue of improving Local Link services in the east Cork constituency. I highlight specifically the need for better public transport. Thousands of people across the constituency are concerned about this problem.”
“I acknowledge the response. I am coming to this with a solution-focused approach. I have seen in Athlone in particular how successful a local town-based bus service can be in providing state-of-the-art public transport connectivity for people living in the housing estates and satellite urban areas near the town.”
“I am also looking at finally having an in-town service for the Midleton-Ballinacurra area, which would give people the option of leaving the car at home. The distances are just that bit too long to walk, if people are doing the shopping and other things as they go about their daily business.”
“Given the fact that stamp duty went from 4% to 9% in the period between 2005 and 2007, and collapsed by over 80% when the crash happened in Ireland, we look now at multinationals paying corporation tax accounting for over 30% of Exchequer revenue.”
“I acknowledge how successful Local Link has been in the areas it does service. We hear great reports about people delighted they are able to jump on a bus, go into their local town, do their shopping, spend money in their local community, support local businesses and get back home all within a respectable timeframe.”
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“On this side of the Chamber there are the back benches, where Government-supporting Deputies sit, and the Minister of State's benches, where members of the Government sit. I am relaying the views and the frustration of the people of east Cork. They do not care about planning processes, Part 8 schemes or Arterial Drainage Acts. They want to see progress as quickly as possible so that their family homes are as safe as they can be. They want us to do all we can in respect of that. I want to reflect on that, which I think is also important to do. From my engagement and experience with Cork County Council, I think it has been doing as much as it physically can in respect of advancing the individual property protection scheme.”
“It does irreversible damage and requires very substantial repair works at huge cost. I will recap the public infrastructure cost of Storm Babet to the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, who is in the Chamber. It was in and around the region of €60 million to €80 million when you factor in the community hospital in Midleton, the community Garda station, other public infrastructure, roads, bridges and things that were washed away and destroyed and needed subsequent reconstruction. The impact it had on families and people - human beings - in the constituency was absolutely devastating. I want to provide feedback to colleagues in the House. I am anxious for us to do everything we can, in the political system, as the public looks on.”
“To put it in perspective for the Minister of State, in the 200 years of recorded history in my home village of Killeagh, there was no record of flooding taking place until October 2023. I concur with Deputy Hayes's comments. We are living in times when the climate is changing. These events, unfortunately, will become more common. Killeagh has been made famous by the Kingfishr song, which mentions "the woods of Glenbower". One thing that personally hit me was walking those woods after the flooding took place and seeing bridges washed away and the landscape damaged through landslides and other physical changes. It is the first time in my living memory that I recall any event causing such damage and destruction. The sad reality of water is that it gets in everywhere.”
“I am sharing time with my colleague, Deputy O'Connell, on the important issue of flooding. I represent the constituency of Cork East and have the honour and privilege to do so in Dáil Éireann. It is well known that Storm Babet in October 2023 did unmerciful damage to a huge number of homes and businesses across the constituency. Over 800 homes and premises were badly damaged. Many people's homes were destroyed and needed very significant reconstruction works. Housing estates were overrun by flood water in the town of Midleton and many other areas of east Cork including Rathcormac, Mogeely, the village of Killeagh and Castlemartyr. It also affected places in Ladysbridge and many one-off rural locations around that area.”
“The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC gave a very stern warning to the Government yesterday about our level of expenditure. What I want to raise is an important project that the Government could get behind to try to grow our domestic enterprise and entrepreneurial activity in Ireland. I gave a presentation to our parliamentary party in relation to having a national, fully supported accelerator grown and developed in a newly redeveloped IFSC. The country needs this to happen. Given my own party leader's disinterest in it, maybe it is something the Tánaiste might take up. It is important because it could grow our tax base in Ireland and support young entrepreneurs, and we could be proactive about how we grow our domestic tax base.”
“There is a game of pass the parcel between the Department and local government when both need to come together to understand that the scale of development happening in areas such as my own in the Cork East constituency, and the rapid nature of those developments, requires urgent attention for reasons ranging from flooding to the large-scale size of the developments. As Deputy O'Sullivan rightly said, if someone wants to build a house on those lands, the planning process is far more tedious than it is when seeking to swallow up hundreds of acres for the development of these facilities.”
“It will take more to deter us than a few cheap shots in op-eds in the Irish Examiner criticising me and others for having the courage to come in here and raise these matters. Deputy O'Sullivan is right that we need the guidelines. Local authorities need those guidelines and they need leadership from the Government. A message must go back to the custodians of the status quo who have let this matter carry on for so long, despite its being raised at parliamentary party level and ministerial level before the general election and again now, that we need answers. It seems to me we have been left in the lurch, unable to give constituents answers because we do not have those guidelines.”
“In the east Cork area and other parts of the country, as other Deputies have raised, this is not happening in a prudent or productive way for the agricultural economy and n terms of the impact it is having on residents, given the size and scale of these developments. As I said, they potentially are upwards of 1,000 acres and in one case I am aware of, up to a maximum of 2,000 acres, which is larger than the Phoenix Park.”
“I thank the Minister. I acknowledge that he has provided a response. As a TD, I have no issue with the need for renewable energy and the decarbonisation of our economy but when it comes in the form of using thousands of acres of land in highly commercial agricultural areas - the Cork East constituency has some of the best land in the country - that represents one issue, and the second issue is the scale of these developments. Other countries have pursued very smart strategies such as using the top of commercial and school premises and factories or non-agricultural lands to pursue these developments, but Ireland has a mismatch in terms of policy. Development is happening in areas where, ultimately, it is not the best use of that land or ground. Does the Minister see the point I am raising?”
“This is an important question. On behalf of the people of Cork East, I want to ask about the position regarding the publication of solar guidelines. There has been an explosion in the number of solar projects across Cork East as a constituency, as well as in Deputy O'Sullivan's constituency of Cork North-Central and other parts of the country where developments have occurred, often at very large scale from 500 to 600 acres up to 2,000 acres. Could the Minister please give my constituents some clarity on this urgent matter?”
“Following on from the enterprise committee's visit to Japan in recent weeks, a serious issue has been raised regarding the lack of direct connectivity with Ireland for people from outside of the United States who want to come to our country and invest. Some 90% of Ireland's corporation tax take comes from the US. Surely this is an extremely serious risk, and we need to look at dealing with a more balanced system of corporation tax take.”
“According to the Central Statistics Office there has been a drop-off of almost €50 billion in inbound foreign direct investment value into Ireland. As the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Tánaiste will understand the importance of connectivity for a small island economy. The reality is that the world economy is moving further east all of the time. Only one flight leaves this country for Asia and that is directly to China, between Beijing and Dublin. Does the Minister think there is a need for a strategy from his Department to analyse this and to see if Ireland can connect with new markets like Japan, which is the largest source of FDI in Asia for Ireland and other countries?”
“We need a slight solution with regard to a larger-scale bus. I have been in contact with the Minister of State, who works exceptionally hard. Nobody would doubt that but we would like to see a solution for the parents and children in the Kilcredan catchment covering Ballymacoda, Ladysbridge and Garryvoe. It has been a long-standing problem over a long number of years. I add my voice to those of so many other Deputies here and ask that the over-70s limit on bus drivers for school transport be dealt with. I understand it is with the board of Bus Éireann but it is desperately needed if people are medically fit to operate school bus services”
“This is my first contribution since the Dáil returned. I look forward to the next number of months. I thank the Minister of State for his ongoing engagement regarding school transport. I will address the pilot scheme for the Kilcredan school area. When this was brought forward, a lot of us were thrilled because we felt it would bring about a permanent solution. It has been very difficult dealing with school bus issues in this area because, unfortunately, the traditional parish dynamic of rural communities, which is extremely important to people in rural Ireland, is being affected by distance-based judgements about who is and is not eligible for school transport. About six families are still affected despite the pilot scheme. Given that this is a pilot scheme with the ambition of tackling this issue, could this finally be put to rest?”
“I raise the issue of the national average waiting time for a driver test of 14 weeks. In Dungarvan the average waiting time is 30 weeks. It is very popular with people in the east Cork area. The Tánaiste knows this is absolutely unacceptable. It has dragged on for years now. The RSA has failed to meet its targets. Is this something the Government could finally look at working towards bringing to an end? The people of Cork have been waiting for 20 years for something to come to an end this weekend. I wish the Cork team the best of luck against Tipperary. I am sure the Tánaiste will be cheering them on, with most of the Government.”
“When it comes to tranche 2 schemes, though, we have been waiting far too long for answers from the Government about where they are and getting them done. I would appreciate if this could be prioritised by the Department of public expenditure and the OPW.”
“Go raibh maith agat. I just wish to reiterate the point regarding the need to expedite the flood schemes for Mogeely and Castlemartyr in terms of tranche 2 schemes and for Rathcormac as well, and the importance of this being done. Deputy McCarthy and I are in the House this morning as local Government TDs. The communities impacted post Storm Babet need to see this critical flood infrastructure being put in place. They have been left in limbo for far too long. I have been repeatedly raising this matter over the last number of years. I know the Minister and the Minister of State have very kindly come to the constituency to see the damage caused by Storm Babet and the follow-ups being done by the OPW, the Department of public expenditure and the local authority.”
“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?”
“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.”
“It is important to put on the record of the House that the cost of restoring the line and having a fully equipped electrified rail connection back to Youghal would probably come in at around that amount, which is a very substantial sum of money for the catchment area of east Cork that I represent. Ultimately, this should happen but in consideration of the fact that the greenway is in place, assessing the economic success of that greenway and the impact it has on the tourist economy in Youghal. I want to add my own two cents to the argument because I am a believer in investing more in public transport, especially when we are expecting a significant increase in the population in east Cork with the development of residential housing at Water-rock, and the further expansion of housing stock in the Carrigtwohill-Glounthaune area.”
“It would be remiss of me not to bring up the restoration of the railway line further east towards Youghal and the restoration of the train stations at Killeagh and Mogeely. It goes without saying that a state-of-the-art greenway investment has been put in place costing a very significant amount of money - shy of €20 million. It is heavily utilised and has been quite successful but members of the public constantly raise this with me as a TD representing east Cork. I feel obliged to tell the House that I have done some research into what the cost of restoring that railway line would be. I am told by the appointed contractor of the Cork area commuter rail programme rail improvement scheme, involving double tracking to Midleton, that it would cost around €300 million.”
“I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Deputy John McGuinness, for allowing me some of his time. I wish to speak on this issue because Cork East is receiving the largest single investment in an active rail project anywhere in the country now, with a €1.6 billion investment into the Cork area metropolitan transport strategy. I note Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan from Cork North-Central is in the Chair. Both our constituencies are beneficiaries of this investment. The project is advancing at a rapid pace. I was lucky enough to be down on the site more recently with the appointed contractor and Irish Rail's project manager, A.J. Cronin. Phenomenal work is being done and I commend it.”
“Ultimately, because of the cost increases in wind, this will be pushed onto solar, which will destroy rural Ireland as far as I am concerned. It is not being built on poor agricultural land, as it is already regulated to do so in France, the United Kingdom, Italy and other EU member states. We have one of the most pro-developer-led strategies in the area of solar anywhere in Europe and I want to raise this matter. I have brought nuclear into the debate and I know not everybody is in agreement. Deputy Paul Murphy is in the House and he does not agree with me on this but I want to raise it as a matter of discussion. The way we are going about it will increase costs for consumers and businesses in a way that is completely and utterly unsustainable.”
“I want to raise with the Taoiseach the issue of energy prices in Ireland. We now have the most expensive non-residential electricity in Europe and we are third in terms of household prices. This is not sustainable from the point of view of competitiveness. I have raised here previously that Irish energy policy is deeply unsustainable. I have seen a growth in solar. with hundreds and hundreds of acres, in excess of thousands of acres now, unfortunately, taking up some of the best agricultural land in our country. I would like the Cabinet committee to look at this issue because it is not sustainable to have an 80% target for renewable energy by 2030 while also expecting a 40% increase in energy generation.”
“Local solicitors have come to me, as have people from An Garda Síochána, on the basis of confidentiality. Others involved in protecting our justice services in the town have expressed serious concern at this move.”
“I want to raise the issue of Youghal District Court being removed from the town. Youghal has lost much of its public services over a protracted period. I want to raise the matter of retaining a District Court. There was a previous attempt to remove it. Unfortunately, moving those services to Dungarvan also brings Garda resources from Youghal, outside County Cork, half an hour's drive away, to another location. I want to raise the importance of keeping this in the town. Crime is not a big issue in Youghal, thankfully, but we have had a number of sad, high-profile cases. Having a District Court in the town, which has about 8,500 residents in the winter and increasing to approximately 12,000 in the summer, is much needed for the local community. This is part of a wider restructuring but I want to advocate that we need to retain it.”
“The programme for Government states that we must ensure the social protection system is work friendly and that welfare traps which inhibit people from taking up work are removed. At present, a person on jobseeker's allowance who receives an offer of part-time work may actually end up worse off financially if their hours are spread across the whole working week rather than being concentrated over three days or less. This could easily be addressed with some focus, and I appreciate the comments the Minister has made. I hope we can work on it together. I just wanted to raise the issue because I thought it was important. I appreciate the Department's response that this will be worked on in the coming weeks and months.”
“I look forward to working with the Minister on issues around this and other employment matters that may come up before the relevant Oireachtas committees, including the employment committee. If he can give further information in his supplementary response, I would appreciate it.”
“I appreciate the response. This is an important issue that has been raised by the Citizens Information Board. It was highlighted that the working-age payments scheme should be based on the working family payment model, whereby a person receives a payment based on a percentage of the difference between his or her income and the specified threshold for his or her family type. However, the board also pointed out how crucial and important the administration of the working-age payment is, given the difficulties regularly reported by CIS clients. I appreciate the information the Minister brought before the House. It is important that clarification is brought. It is a matter we discussed previously. This comes up in conversations in my constituency office, as it does for other Deputies.”
“Will the Department of Social Protection remove the inconsistencies and anomalies in the current jobseeker's allowance scheme that discourage people from taking up employment. Will he give some further information on that? It is an important issue. It is something we have previously discussed. I would appreciate it if the Minister could advise the House on whether his Department plans any moves on this.”
“I would appreciate him bringing my arguments back to the Department. I thank him most sincerely for his visit to Cork East, which was very successful. He was very sincere in his work in that regard.”
“People in Ladysbridge are very committed to the future of Kilcredan National School and want to see their children go to and support the school because it is the school of their community. I accept that there is a paradox there in terms of the distance. I am a realist. I have often discussed it with other groups across my area and said that we cannot have an à la carte solution to each problem but this one is particularly bad and more than worthy of attention. The principal of the school and his predecessor have been outstanding in terms of raising this matter with me. It puts a lot of pressure on the school board and school management. I can understand why parents are so frustrated. What happened last year and in previous years had a significant impact of people living in those houses. I thank the Minister of State for the information.”
“I welcome the Minister of State's statement. He understands rural Ireland and the issues I am raising because our constituencies are not that dissimilar. We share a county after all. I welcome the inclusion of Kilcredan in the pilot project by the Department of Education. I would appreciate if the Department would share that information with me so I can bring it back to the parents and the school and if the information was shared with the school. It is an easy issue to solve. There should be a recognition in the mapping the Department does each year with the bus provider - Bus Éireann - and the services it uses that this is a problem area because of what has happened there historically.”
“As a TD, I do not like having to go back to those parents, trying to scrape around for updates from the Department, putting everybody under pressure when it could all be done very easily if it were raised at this time of the year. I would deeply appreciate it if the Minister of State could bring my points back to the Department. I am grateful to him for being here to listen to me this morning. I know that parents and children in that community would appreciate this matter being raised as a matter of urgency.”
“It is very discriminatory what the Department is doing with the distance boundaries. In rural Ireland, people are very precious about where they come from, and rightly so. It is a nice part of the country that we live in. What I am asking for is that the Department of Education have some bit of compassion for a school community, which is among three schools that have been merged into one, and have some recognition of that. As I said, each September we are back in the same position and are negotiating for weeks. It is a complete waste of time and, ultimately, all it requires is the stroke of a pen. That is what bothers me most about it.”
“What I am asking for, and I do not think it is an unfair ask, is in regard to locations that have gone through the process of amalgamation, where the school is of its parish boundaries and it is what the parents, the board of management and the local community and area want. That has never not been raised with with me as a TD representing them. They want to have it reflected by the Department of Education, that is, that it is the school of that community, of the Fr. O’Neill's, Ladysbridge and Ballymacoda catchment area and that Kilcredan is their school of which they are very proud. Some of the great hurlers, such as Ger Millerick and Declan Dalton, who played on the Cork team at the weekend come from Kilcredan. There is a very strong, proud sporting tradition in the school.”
“We have been having a Siege of Ennis-style situation where there is a dance every September and a panic, and we are having to bang down the doors of the Department of Education to try to deal with the situation. It is mercifully unfair on the parents and the children involved. Ireland has changed completely in the past 40 years. Most households now are lucky to have somebody at home at all. Having an adequate bus transport system in place for kids in those areas is a really important part of the fabric of rural Ireland. I am not happy, as a TD representing the people affected by this - those who have children attending Kilcredan, the children themselves and the school - who are all put in a very difficult position every year.”
“I appreciate the opportunity to raise this important matter regarding my constituency. It is about Kilcredan National School, which is located in the peripheral regions of Youghal and Midleton towns. It is a rural school but it is also a very large school. It came about because of the merger of three existing primary schools in that parish into one. Although it was a very good idea and the school is excellent, run by a brilliant team of people, they have come under huge pressure in recent years from the Department of Education’s transport policy on school bus transport, as a consequence of the village of Ladysbridge being a distance further from Kilcredan, which is the school of its parish, than Castlemartyr and Ballintotis national schools in the periphery.”
“We all know the issues with the availability of capital for major housing builds. Rural builders who are rooted in the community in places like Killeagh and Castlemartyr can find workers and labourers from local sporting organisations and local schools who may want to get involved in the building trade to upskill and do their apprenticeships. It provides a supply of workers to the economy to work in construction. It is important to advance wastewater schemes in these rural communities. I again raise with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, the issue of Ballyhooly, which must be addressed. I would deeply appreciate if Whitegate, Aghada and all of the areas affected could continue to be prioritised under the new Government.”
“We are seeing the long overdue intervention that is required. It should not take more than three or four years from something being identified as an issue to getting Irish Water to intervene. We have had situations dragging out for over a decade in east Cork. This cannot be allowed to persist. It is worth acknowledging the impact that the capital works are having on the lack of housing delivery in rural constituencies. I am from the constituency of Cork East. It is a constituency with eight major towns and a huge cluster of villages. Builders want to have the opportunity to come forward with projects to build ten, 20 or 30 residential homes in those communities. They cannot progress them because they are unable to get access to water supply and wastewater services because of Irish Water's concentration on more urban areas.”
“I am also critical of Irish Water's policy on what is deemed to be non-drinkable water and on providing bottled and tanked water to communities, where people get reimbursed and there are not-safe-for-consumption rules. Where boil water notices or non-consumption notices are in place, a service should be provided to residents in that area so that they can get access to water or be reimbursed for it. I have come across it time and time again. For in excess of a decade we have been discussing what is going on in Whitegate, Aghada and the rural east Cork water supply, away from Ballyhooly for a moment, where people have been drawing water in and out from Midleton down to the communities. I am thinking in particular of elderly people and those with mobility concerns. I want to make the case on behalf of them.”
“With your kind permission, a Cheann Comhairle, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan will be sharing some of my time. I appreciate the opportunity to raise issues pertaining to my constituency and nationally relating to Irish Water. In particular, I want to raise the case of what is going on in Ballyhooly, a small village outside of the town of Fermoy. Ballyhooly has had ongoing significant problems with water outages and burst water pipes. I have raised the issue in the House on multiple occasions. There does not seem to be proper due intervention from Irish water to fix the problem in that community. It has had an adverse impact on the local national school in that it has prevented further development and growth in the area, along with having a serious impact on local residents in the community.”
“As backbench TDs, we are looking forward later today to presenting to our parliamentary party and to the Taoiseach on delivering an internationally visible statement of Ireland's commitment to innovation in the area of entrepreneurship. It is something we must try to do more of to ensure Ireland, as a small country, does everything it can domestically to drive entrepreneurship, innovation and job creation on our shores, irrespective of the tariffs the United States is putting on the European Union.”
“We also have a highly skilled young workforce who are committed to Ireland's future when it comes to development, entrepreneurship and innovation. I know so many young people of my own age - I am only 27 - and I see what they are doing and how committed they are but some of them leave. They go to San Francisco, to Paris and to other parts of the world when we could be doing it right here, only up the road in the IFSC and in other locations in the country where some extraordinarily exciting innovation is happening. The Minister, Deputy Burke, is a young man at Cabinet and I can say with some confidence that he sees this opportunity. I have huge confidence in his ability to work on a cross-party basis to try to deliver our collective part for us.”
“I also recognise the appointment of the Minister, Deputy Lawless, in the higher education and the innovation space. I would like to see the Government pursing what is in our new programme for Government regarding having a world-class entrepreneurship centre and hub in Ireland to harvest what we have on our own shores. There are several examples from Estonia, on what is being done in Scotland in the UK and on what is going on in relation to the French world-leading policy with STATION F. I have spoken with the Minister, Deputy Burke, on this. It is not about replicating what those countries are doing but it is about what Ireland can bring to the table and do it in our own way. We are probably one of the most successful countries in the world at attracting in FDI.”
“In the context of the tariffs, I raise what we are doing here in Ireland and what we can control. So much of what is going on in the United States, no matter what Ireland says and no matter what Minister we dispatch to Washington, is not going to be able to reverse what the Trump White House intends to do. I was there a few weeks ago, and it was interesting. The Acting Chair was there and we got to see him in the flesh. They are very intent on what they are doing. Whether their ambition is to devalue the dollar or any number of other initiatives, it is going to do enormous harm. I want to swing the conversation towards what is within our control. I am delighted to see the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Deputy Burke, is in the House.”
“It has to be said in the House under privilege. When you go across the world, you do not walk into a supermarket in any foreign country and see an Irish solar panel on the shelf. You see our agricultural goods, the best of what we make, especially dairy. If this is allowed to expand at the pace I believe will happen over the course over the next five to ten years, this has the capacity to have a detrimental impact on the country's dairy sector and nobody is talking about it because it is an easy buck. The return for the circular economy is appalling. It makes the landowner and the company wealthy. They sell it off and move on and another asset management firm takes over once it is developed and finished. Somebody has to recognise that for the 169,000 people who work in agrifood in this country.”
“I do not need to remind anyone that a few years ago, Midleton was underwater because of the river flooding, not coastal flooding, that occurred in Midleton town, which damaged more than 900 homes and properties. Up the road, solar farms are being developed and planning permission is being sought in several areas for further expansion of that. It makes no sense. My great fear as a TD is that another flooding event will occur, similar to what happened with Storm Babet, before the flood defences are completed, which will take a number of years because it has to go through the same planning process, but if you want to go up the road and build a bloody solar farm, it is fine. It makes zero sense. As I said, the commentators on this are pretty well-known. Some are former election candidates. They have plenty of opinions.”
“I thank the Minister of State. In my opening statement, I referred to what is happening with the solar development in the Killeagh-Inch area and Mountuniacke, but there are others, north of Midleton, in Leamlara, and Lisgoold, and towards Watergrasshill, more are being proposed in Kilquane around Knockraha. What is also disturbing, as the Minister of State highlighted, is the lack of regulation, which, by the way, really suits the developers. They love it. The famous statement is "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts", but I think one should beware of Greeks bearing opinions. Quite a lot of well-known people in Ireland are working as "lobbyists" with regard to this.”
“Solar is not farming. It is commercial electricity production. Someone has to come in here and say that. I am in favour of rooftop solar. I am also in favour of small portions of land, whether it is 10 acres or 20 acres of a holding, being used for solar on dairy farms as a supplementary income to farmers and to give income stability. I do not support hundreds of acres - up to 1,000 acres with some projects that have been proposed and discussed in excess of 1,000 acres - being used for wholesale transition away from agricultural use to commercial electricity. The State needs to do something about it urgently.”