Joanne Collins
Agricultural Panel · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“I am going to speak to amendments Nos. 2, 4 and 8. Amendment No. 2 makes it absolutely clear that the strategic emergency gas reserve is exactly that: an emergency reserve. It cannot become another source of gas for day-to-day commercial supply or market management.”
“(3) The Minister must mandate that the CRU carries out an assessment on the impact of the expenses incurred on household bills under this Act and all future Acts relating to construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of a Strategic Emergency Gas Reserve.”. I will keep this very brief.”
“I move amendment No. 6: In page 10, between lines 31 and 32, to insert the following: " State-led 5 . (1) The Strategic Emergency Gas Reserve constructed, operated and maintained under this Act and all future Acts relating to its construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning will be a State-led asset.”
“Yes, I am not going to give out. Regardless of what is said to me I am going to be nice today on our last day. I echo what is being said about everybody enjoying their break and the thanks to all the staff in here. It can be very daunting when you first come in but everybody makes you feel like you can do it. It is great to work here.”
“I move amendment No. 7: In page 10, between lines 31 and 32, to insert the following: " Gas demand 5 . (1) The Minister shall ensure that a Strategic Emergency Gas Reserve established under this Act and all future Acts relating to its construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning does not lead to an increase in gas demand.”
“I move amendment No. 10: In page 10, between lines 31 and 32, to insert the following: “Decommissioning 5. The Minister shall, within 12 months of the commencement of this Act, outline a plan for decommissioning any Strategic Emergency Gas Reserve constructed, operated, maintained or decommissioned under this Act and all future Acts relat…”
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“Our coastal and island communities are not looking for favours. They are looking for justice. They deserve the same protection and respect given to others. This motion, strengthened by the amendments, is a clear statement from this House: Ireland must demand its fair share of our own natural resources. The reckless overfishing by other nations cannot be rewarded. The Common Fisheries Policy must be fundamentally reformed and fishing communities - coastal, inshore and island - must have a viable future. Our heritage, our jobs, our coastal economies and sovereignty of our own waters are at stake. The era of managed decline must end. The State needs to fight for its fishers and not apologise for them.”
“That is why my amendment clarifies the investment has been selective and not sector-wide. The motion also calls for targeted supports for traditional fishing communities. I have amended it to ensure it includes small-scale inshore and island fishermen and women. Island and inshore communities are too often forgotten. These are the people fishing single-handedly, facing soaring costs with no stability and no safety net. Ireland must also secure the Hague preferences as compensation to these devastating quota cuts. We need emergency financial supports to protect vessels, jobs and processing plants. We need a stronger voice in Europe. Many in the industry have called for a permanent Fish Ireland office in Brussels, something Government really should explore, and urgently. At the core of all of this is fairness.”
“Ireland controls 12% of EU waters but receives 6% of the quota. That imbalance worsened after Brexit. Our communities bore the cost and cannot continue to accept it. The impact is real. Up to 837 jobs in the pelagic catching sector are at risk. That is more than 2,300 when the indirect jobs are included. This could mean a €200 million hit to the seafood economy. In many places, fishing families are telling us they are the last generation. That is actually shocking to hear when you think of what it means to this country to have fishing. Industry matters too. The Government has invested in some ports, harbours and piers under the fisheries, harbour and coastal infrastructure programme and the Brexit adjustment reserve. However, many coastal communities have seen nothing.”
“Irish fishermen follow the science and rules. The crisis has been caused by rogue and reckless fishing by Norway, Iceland and other countries, facilitated by weak international oversight and EU inaction. Irish fishermen are paying the price for other nations’ bad behaviour. While this is happening, Norway and others are still being granted access to Irish waters. This is why the motion must be clear. Ireland must oppose any further concessions that give third countries disproportionate access to our waters. I have also added an essential line in this amendment, one that speaks directly to the heart of the problem, namely, to “stand up for our fishing communities by demanding our fair share of the fish in Irish waters and by challenging the failings of the Common Fisheries Policy that facilitate the injustice”.”
“I welcome the Minister of State. It is great to have him here. I welcome the motion and the opportunity to strengthen it through the amendments that we have tabled this evening. We also acknowledge the importance of having a Minister of State for marine affairs. Acknowledgement is not enough, however. Our fishing communities are in crisis. The recent report from An Bord Iascaigh Mhara suggesting that everything is fine has been described by industry leaders as offensive and unacceptable. The reality on the ground is stark. Boats are tired, crews are exhausted and coastal economies are on the brink. Our pelagic sector is facing what industry has called an economic Armageddon. Scientific advice for 2026 shows massive cuts, such as a cut of 70% to mackerel and 41% to blue whiting, yet those cuts are not the result of Irish actions.”
“I move amendment No. 1: After the last paragraph under “calls on the Government to:”, to insert the following paragraph: - “stand up for our Irish fishing communities by demanding our fair share of the fish in Irish waters and by challenging the failings in the existing Common Fisheries Policy that facilitate this injustice.””
“However, if a millionaire living a couple of miles away on a street where there is water wants to put in his or her own well, if the house is not a new build, there is a grant for that person. It would be nice to see a grant available for new construction for people living in areas where there is no water connection.”
“We need it in Limerick, Cork and Galway on the west coast. We also need it in Laois. Senator McCormack stated that nearly every town in that county as being at capacity. It is the same in every county. We need that money to be distributed equally and on a priority basis. It is unfathomable that we have a Department that is supposed to look after water but which is not doing so and not ensuring it gets to where it needs to needs to go. There are areas in this country where people cannot connect to water and must drill their own well. There are no connections and no group water schemes. Drilling a well will cost between €7,000 and €10,000, depending on how deep it is necessary to go. There is no grant system for that.”
“I welcome the Minister of State. I have spoken a lot in the House about the lack of water in county towns. It sounds awful but it gives me some relief to hear it is not just County Limerick that has this issue. In the only county town or tier 2 town in Limerick, Newcastle West, houses have stopped being built. A development had to be stopped and the doors closed to people because it could not be connected up to the system. It will be 2031 before the wastewater treatment system can take another connection. That is six years until another house can be built in the county town of Limerick. It is absolutely crazy. I am delighted to hear in the latest report about the money going into Irish Water. That will be amazing but I plead with the Minister of State not to let the €12.2 billion go just to Dublin and the east coast.”
“I live in rural Ireland and I know how difficult it can be after a storm. This money needs to be directed correctly to relieve grid congestion. We must make sure that the money is used for essential public service security in schools, hospitals and Garda stations, for housing-related basic needs and defined public interest projects. From time to time projects will come up that will need to connect to the electricity grid. Obviously we are not going to have it closed off or limited to four or five individual areas. Anything that comes under the term "public good" is what we want to provide for in our amendments.”
“Our amendments also seek to strengthen the governance around the ESB's capital stock by requiring the employee share scheme to be subject to an independent audit, with findings published every three months. What we are looking here for is oversight and proper governance. This is taxpayer's money and we need to ensure that we know where it is going and what it is being spent on. Again, we want it spent for the public good and not for corporate good. Members will be sick of hearing me say this but we housing over data centres, 100% and all of the time is what we need to be looking at. Getting this extra money into the ESB is a good thing. We have seen from the most recent storms how much it takes to get electricity services back up and running and the levels of congestion on the grid.”
“We have umpteen houses that cannot get connections to the grid because it is already at capacity. We are all for the extra spending but we just want to see protocols put in place to ensure that this money is not pumped into data centres. We have to stop looking at the corporate side all of the time and start looking at the residential sector and at what is actually needed in this country. We are asking for reports to be prepared on what this money is being used for and what projects it is being put into, in the first instance within six months and thereafter every 12 months. We are not seeking six-month reports constantly, but just in the first instance to see exactly how much has been borrowed, what it is being used for, if additional funds are needed and so forth.”
“(4C) The Board shall ensure that any borrowing under this Act does not result in an increase in domestic electricity tariffs beyond inflationary adjustments, and shall publish an annual statement confirming compliance to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.”.”. We have tabled two amendments in this grouping. Amendment No. 1 seeks to introduce a prioritisation framework for how the ESB uses this borrowing. We are all for the ESB being allowed to borrow extra money because we know it is needed in this country, but we need to ensure that what is being borrowed is being used for the public good. The bottom line is that we want it to be used for housing, Garda stations and schools before it is ever put into a data centre. The public good means for the good of the people living in Ireland so that we can actually build houses.”
“(4B) The Board shall, within 6 months of the commencement of this Act and annually thereafter, lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report detailing: (a) the amount borrowed under section 4(4) of the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Act 1954; (b) the purposes for which such borrowing was applied including a breakdown of project type; (c) the projected borrowing required for the next year including a breakdown of project type; (d) the impact on consumer electricity prices; and the report shall be subject to review by the Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Energy and the Environment and the Oireachtas Committee of Public Accounts.”
“I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “(2) Section 4 of the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Act 1954 is amended by the insertion of the following: “(4A) The Board shall borrow to invest in projects on the basis of a prioritisation framework which encompasses— (a) congestion softeners in areas of high congestion, (b) security encompassing hospitals, Garda stations, water safety and wastewater treatment, (c) basic needs encompassing residential construction, and (d) exceptional cases of public interest, and will exclude grid infrastructure upgrades or connections for data centres.”
“This beef will come into this country and be sold to hotels and restaurants. We will not see the packaging and will not know whether it is Irish beef that has gone through the same conditions that our world-class beef goes through. People could be sitting in a restaurant eating something that has been injected with hormones. I ask Senators to go back to their parties and plead with them to vote for the Private Member's motion this evening and stop this trade agreement from going ahead.”
“This beef may be injected with hormones, as Mercosur countries do not have the same animal rights or rules and regulations that we have here in Ireland and across Europe. We have such a high standard of beef in this country that we are probably world-class beef distributors. If this trade agreement goes through in Europe, we will have beef coming in that will not go through the same regulatory scrutiny as ours does. The family farm is going to be devastated by this. There are three different sides to this. There is the family farm, where their beef is not going to be worth what it is now. The price of beef is going to drop if this happens. There is also the climate side, as this will incentivise Brazil to cut down its rainforest to make more space to produce more beef.”
“I echo the Sinn Féin Party's condolences for those poor lives that were lost in Louth. As a parent, I can only imagine. It is the worst nightmare to get that phone call, whether it is in the middle of the night or during the day. When my kids are out and they are not home yet, I have my phone on loud and I am waiting. Every time my phone beeps I have to look. We often speak here about our farming community and how important it is to have our small family farms rooted in our rural communities. This evening, Sinn Féin is bringing forward a Private Members' motion in the Dáil on Mercosur. If this trade agreement goes through, it will see an unbelievable influx of beef to this country.”
“Sinn Féin's amendments would put in place the safeguards, oversight and fairness that have been missing for far too long. If the Government truly wants this Bill to mark a turning point for Ireland's energy future, it should accept these amendments next week because Ireland does not need more missed opportunities. We need a fair, transparent and affordable energy system, one that works for the people and not for profit.”
“It means that the very companies driving up the energy demand are being asked to pay less while the ordinary families are paying more. Our amendments would ensure that the €1.5 billion of public investment and the extra €5 billion in borrowing powers are used to bring down the costs and not drive them up. Sinn Féin recognises the need for investment, but we also recognise the need for responsibility. Public money must deliver public good. That means transparency and oversight through the Oireachtas. It means fairness for households who are struggling to pay their bills. It means strategic investment that supports housing, energy security and renewable growth, not blank cheques for corporate expansion. We cannot continue with the stop-start planning and the lack of scrutiny that has been left to happen for decades in this country.”
“Meanwhile, families are being priced out of their homes and young couples are being told that housing cannot go ahead because the grid is full. This has to stop. Our third amendment is about protecting households. It requires the ESB to ensure that any borrowing under the Bill does not lead to an increase in the domestic tariffs beyond inflationary adjustments because households are already paying some of the highest energy bills across Europe. Over 300,000 households are now in arrears yet under the Government's own regulatory draft price review 6, households and SMEs will see their network charges rise while large users like the data centres will get a reduction of up to 18%. That is just not fair. It is actually scandalous, when we think about it, that households are going to pay more and data centres will pay less.”
“Our second amendment will set out a clear prioritisation framework for the investment modelled on the Dutch authority for consumers and markets, ACM, model to make sure that ESB's new borrowing powers are targeted where they are needed most. That means investment in congestion softeners in areas where the grid is constrained, security of supply for hospitals, Garda stations and water infrastructure and especially cases where there is clear public interest. This means excluding grid connections for any new data centres because housing has to come before data centres. Data centres have hijacked our electricity grid. They now consume 22% of our national electricity demand, projected to reach one third by 2030. That compares with between 3% and 5% for other EU countries.”
“It lacks transparency, accountability and the necessary protections for households. That is why Sinn Féin has tabled amendments to the Bill. I really hope we can have a good discussion on them because they are constructive, responsible and grounded in fairness. I am going to very briefly run through what each one is about. I will be going into more detail next week. Our first amendment would require ESB to report directly to the Oireachtas within six months and annually thereafter. This report would set out where the money is being borrowed, what projects it is funding and, crucially, what impact it has on electricity prices for consumers. Let us be honest: without transparency, there can be no accountability. The public has the right to know where the money is going and whether it is serving the public good or corporate interests.”
“I welcome the Minister. There is no question that we need urgent and ambitious action to fix our electricity grid, which has been crippled by decades of underinvestment, bad planning and mismanagement. That neglect has left us in a critical infrastructure deficit, with soaring prices and a grid that cannot even connect new homes or maximise our renewable potential. Just this summer, 80 families were unable to move into their new homes because there was no electricity connection. Across the State, renewable generation is being wasted because the grid cannot carry the power, so, yes, investment is essential, but how that investment is planned, managed and overseen will determine whether we fix these failures or repeat them again. Unfortunately, as drafted, this Bill risks repeating them.”
“They have to wait 12 weeks. Twelve weeks is a long time for somebody who suffers domestic abuse at the hands of another. It seems to be another hurdle they have to jump through. I would appreciate if the Leader could take this to the Minister with responsibility for this to see if there is something that can be done about this policy so that 12-week wait is not going to be the case going forward, and that we can have that, not minimised, but completely taken out.”
“I want to raise an issue that seems to be a policy flaw. Many of us have advocated for victims of domestic abuse. We have gone to the audiovisual room and listened to their stories. At the moment, if the male or the female victim of domestic abuse is living in a council house and they have to leave for their own safety, the years they have had in that council house are wiped clean. They no longer have those years, and they also have to wait 12 weeks to get back on the housing list to receive HAP payments and supports, putting them at a disadvantage. It seems to be a small little flaw in the system that does not fall into the black or white. It is that grey area that does not seem to be taken into account. For their own safety they have to leave that house, and they seem to be punished for that reason of having to leave.”
“There is the other side to farm safety. There is a side that is unseen, which is the mental health side of it. Farming is not just physically demanding; it is also very lonely and can be so for many farmers. Many farmers work long days alone often under financial and regulatory pressure. When times are tough, that isolation can turn dangerous. Unfortunately, rural isolation, succession uncertainty, income insecurity and rising operational costs are all taking a toll on mental health. Too many farmers are carrying that weight in silence. Sinn Féin has consistently called for a joined-up rural and mental health strategy, one that brings together the health, agriculture, community and transport policies to tackle isolation and to improve the access to supports.”
“That is why in Sinn Féin we believe that farm safety has to become a national priority, not just a line in a policy document. We need to see the real investment in safer infrastructure through schemes like the targeted agriculture modernisation scheme, TAMS. Farm safety education should be early. It should be in our colleges, but also in our schools. I was delighted to hear that we have Agrikids that goes into schools. It needs to be prioritised and needs to be across the country. It is the younger ones, when they see and understand the safety side of it, who will go home and explain. They should not have to explain to their parents, but they are the best ones to pull us up on what we are doing wrong. We need the Department to ensure that every farm scheme and course includes the clear safety requirements and supports.”
“That is 18 too many. Over the past decade, more than 200 families have been left without a loved one because of farm fatalities. Behind those numbers is a parent, partner, son or daughter. Lives are cut short in communities where everybody in that community understands and knows the tragedy that occurs on a farm. Around 4,500 farm accidents happen every year. Nearly half of them require hospitalisation. The main causes are too familiar, such as tractors turning over, uncovered PTO shafts, poor cattle handling facilities, livestock aggression after calves are born, and slurry related drowning and gas poisoning. The truth is that even the most experienced and careful farmer can be caught out. When an accident happens in a remote field or yard, it can be fatal because there is no help nearby.”
“I welcome the two Ministers of State. I thank them for being here. It is an important and topical issue that we need to be discussing. We need to make sure that these farmers are getting the supports that they need. I am delighted to hear of the extra hours that the Department has allocated. Farming is one of the most important, but also one of the most dangerous professions in this country. Our farmers are the backbone of rural Ireland. They provide us with our food, sustain our local economies and preserve the rural way of life. In return, we owe them something very simple: a safe, fair and supportive environment for them to work. Yet, year after year farms remain the most dangerous workplaces in the State. Almost half of all workplace fatalities happen in agriculture. Eighteen people lost their lives already this year.”
“We have plenty of bog land that could be used for wind turbines. Let us try and get them in the right place and at the right height in order that we do not underpopulate our rural areas.”
“Like the Minister of State, I see reducing energy costs as definitely a plus. However, if you cannot build on your land and you cannot get planning permission because your land is now going to be too close to the turbine that went in last year, it does not matter what the electricity cost is as you cannot live there. One without the other does not seem to work. That is my issue. These two policies, one trying to repopulate rural areas and the other trying to provide for wind energy, are going against each other. They are not going to work together. I again ask that the Minister release these guidelines that were done six years ago and have them published so that we have symmetry across all planning areas whereby you have the same rules for every county. Loads of land in this country is never going to be used for building.”
“They were far enough back from the house that no one objected because they were not going to be in the way, but when their son came of age and wanted to build a house on the land they owned next to the house, he could not build there because it was too close to the turbines. We are stopping future planning permission by putting these turbines in the middle of these rural areas. We need to be protecting our future planning for our rural areas. I ask that these guidelines be published immediately.”
“If the new guidelines come out and stipulate that we cannot have turbines at a height of 158 m, these new ones that go up will not be pulled out. They will not. Realistically, once something goes in, that it is it; it is in. Another big issue for our rural communities is that when these wind turbines go in, people will not be able to get planning permission to build a house on all the land in the surrounding area. We are going to end up depopulating our rural areas. It has happened in the past. Two wind turbines went up and I know the family who lived in a house near the turbines.”
“They reckon they will completely lose the value of their homes if these wind turbines go up. They will not be able to sell when it comes to it, nor will they even want to pass them down to their children because of the flicker effect and the noise of the wind turbines. It is really frustrating that we are working off guidelines from 2006 when new guidelines were drafted in 2019. We are in 2025, six full years since these guidelines were drafted, but they have not been published. Local authorities are completely inconsistent with their plans and procedures for wind farms. They are working off old guidelines. They do not know if the wind turbines going up at the moment will be within the new guidelines.”
“I welcome the Minister of State. It is nice to have him back here. My Commencement matter relates to wind turbines and the effects they have on rural communities. Two wind farms are being proposed in County Limerick, one in Coolcappa and the other in the area of Bruff and Dromin-Athlacca. Both of these wind farms will have wind turbines of 158 m, which are extremely high wind turbines similar to the ones seen on the main motorway from Limerick to Dublin, so you can imagine the height of these near houses. These wind farms are causing unbelievable problems in the area because the proposer of the wind turbines has given his land, where these wind turbines are proposed to go, but the people in the houses, schools and communities nearby are completely opposed due to the distance and proximity to their homes.”
“It is fairly bleak when you cannot heat your house and are sitting in a cold house. This is a great Bill but we cannot consider getting rid of fires and solid fuel stoves. We could not possibly, not until our electricity grid is up to scratch and all the other things that have to go with it, like protected powerlines, that we have spoken about over the last couple of months in the Chamber. If your electricity goes, it is a great idea to have a stove, and I do get that we need to use the correct fuel. I agree with the intent of this Bill but I would like to see some measures put in place for those who cannot afford to transition immediately to the fuels that have been mentioned.”
“I want to be clear. I support the intent of the Bill but we must ensure that the implementation is fair, properly resourced and part of an all-island strategy. On the issue of air to water, I live in a house that does not have a solid fuel stove or a fire and, therefore, I completely depend on electricity because it is oil, which is great because there is no mess. However, and the Minister of State will know this as he too lives in a rural area, in the winter, when the electricity goes, my heating goes and I do not have a choice. I am building a home at the moment and, as soon as planning permission was granted, the first thing I did was buy a solid fuel stove. I just had to, because we saw after the last couple of storms where people were weeks with no electricity. It is an awful situation.”
“The focus in the Bill is on commercial sale and the supply of fuels, not on the traditional practices that are a part of rural life, something that is great to see. We also need to think beyond the county lines, which has been said by colleagues across the floor. Air pollution does not recognise boundaries or borders, so we need to consider a North-South initiative. An all-island initiative is needed to combat air pollution. My colleagues in the North have looked at a policy on air pollution, so linking up with the North might be something the Minister and Minister of State could look into. We need co-ordinated regulations, enforcement and public awareness across the island. Sinn Féin has long advocated for that kind of joined-up approach because the environment does not stop at the Border so neither should the solutions.”
“There is no point in giving councils new authority if they do not have the staff to enforce it. Local authorities across the country are already stretched thin. If the Government is serious about enforcement, then the funding and staffing have to follow. Otherwise we are setting up local authorities to fail. It is like adding 1,700 new SNA posts and not filling those posts. The schools look bad in that case because they are not filling the posts. I am happy to see that the Bill does not interfere with turbary rights or impose new restrictions on householders. That is an important reassurance for rural communities and, in particular, my community. I am surrounded by bogs where people cut their own turf. People with turbary rights can continue to cut and use turf as before.”
“For far too long councils, including Limerick City and County Council, have asked for and have sought a task force in order that they can enforce the environmental regulations. They do not have the tools or resources as of yet but this Bill will give that, which is great. It will give them the powers such as the ability to issue on-the-spot fines or seize non-compliant fuels. That is a very positive step which will have an immediate impact on air quality and protect those honest law-abiding businesses that are already doing the right thing. The fuel merchants who register properly, meet the standards and sell clean, compliant products should not be undercut by those who ignore the rules and sell cheaper, dirtier fuels. Crucially, those powers are nothing without the personnel. We really need to look at that side of things.”
“While I fully support the aim of the Bill to ensure that the fuels being sold are cleaner and safer, we must recognise the cost pressures that people are under. Not every household can afford to buy more expensive, higher standard fuels. We cannot have a cliff edge in this situation where people who are already struggling to heat their homes are pushed into further hardship. Cleaner air cannot come at the expense of those who can least afford it. We need support measures and affordability schemes alongside this legislation to help those people make that transition and not penalise them for circumstances that are beyond their control. That being said, I do welcome the Bill's provisions to strengthen enforcement powers for the local authorities.”
“I will start by saying we support the intent and objectives of this Bill. Clearer air is something that we all want for our families, communities and future generations. This legislation represents an important step towards achieving that. We all know, as the Minister of State said previously, that the main sources of air pollution in Ireland are solid fuel burning and transport emissions. While air pollution is often seen as an urban problem, it is still a very real problem for rural Ireland. Across County Limerick, from Abbeyfeale to Cappamore, from Hospital to Glin, there are communities where families depend on solid fuel for their heating. An open fire and the range still remain a very big part of everyday life and a part of who we are as an island.”
“It requests that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, take this seriously for safety concerns as well as congestion, economics and the businesses in the area. It is definitely something that needs to be looked at.”
“Today, Limerick Chamber sent an email to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, requesting allocated funding of €2.2 million for the next phase of works that need to take place on the Mackey roundabout in Limerick. The Mackey roundabout is the main roundabout off the M7 but it links up to the Dublin Road, the University of Limerick and the national technology park. Every day, this has backlogs onto the M7, which cause serious safety concerns and congestion. The businesses in the area have been asking for these works to be carried out since a report was done in 2022 or 2023. It was the Limerick-Shannon metropolitan transport strategy. This is a serious concern for the area and we need this funding to be set aside and ring-fenced. I put my full support behind Limerick Chamber and its request for this.”
“If a wind farm goes in and, two or three years down the line, people want to get planning permission to build on their parents' land, they will now be too close to a windmill and will not get permission. It will completely turn people off living in rural Ireland. I would like to see the report that was done and the new guidelines the Government have been sitting on for what feels like years. It has probably only been a year and a half but it feels like we have been calling for this for a long time. We need to see the new guidelines and have them published for the public and developers to see because if a developer puts in these 158 m turbines and the new guidelines say they cannot be that high, no developer will pull them out to put in new ones.”
“Shannon Foynes Port Company has an amazing strategy and plan for offshore wind generation in the estuary to the extent that it would generate electricity for the entire island of Ireland and be a huge exporter of energy at the same time. If we could have the designated maritime area plans for this produced as soon as possible, it would mean the communities would not be fighting among themselves because of the massive wind farms proposed. It is not just about where wind farms go but also about future planning applications in the relevant areas. Rural Ireland will be decimated if we keep putting wind farms in areas where planning permission could be sought in the future.”
“I want to raise the issue of wind farms, most particularly in County Limerick. There are two action groups: Coolcappagh action group and the Bruff–Dromin–Athlacca action group. They are both in the process of putting in submissions to stop major wind farms from being located in their areas. There has been very little consultation with the communities on these wind farms. They are dividing communities. A landowner may be willing to give up their land for a massive wind farm near a community that does not want it. There are arguments at school gates and people not turning up for kids' parties because there is a complete divide in the community.”
“Affordable houses are not currently affordable, the infrastructure needed to build more houses is not in place and the targets need to be increased.”
“People have been screaming for years that there is too much red tape, duplication and delay in the process of delivering social and affordable homes through the local authorities and approved housing bodies. The Government can keep throwing money at the problem but it must also look at the infrastructure underpinning housing. I am blue in the face talking about County Limerick and Newcastle West, where we have a water treatment plant that cannot take any more houses on board until 2031. That is six more years of no housing in the only tier 2 county town in County Limerick. We must look at this in the round but, as it stands, Sinn Féin agrees with increasing the budget on this. That said, the Government will have to look at all sides of this problem.”