East Cork farmers 'selling dairy farms' for solar development - TD
Farmers in east Cork "are selling large dairy farms" for solar farm development, a Fianna Fail TD for Cork north central has revealed.
Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan also warned in the Dáil that "the lack of guidelines" in relation to solar farms is an issue that Ireland needs to "get serious about".
He believes that for some communities solar farms are "a major blight on the landscape".
The Fianna Fail TD for Cork north central also shared with other TDs earlier this week (Tuesday, October 22) that he fears that his home parish of Knockraha "could become an epi-centre" for solar farms because there is a large substation in the vicinity.
"In surrounding areas like Leamlara and Lisgoold, in my part of the city and out to Carrignavar and Whitechurch, there will be application after application, and not just for small-scale solar farms.
"It will involve hundreds of hectares, potentially thousands, in the coming years," he warned.
According to Deputy O'Sullivan he has been a councillor since 2014 "and we have been talking about the lack of guidelines since then".
"Nobody doubts the need for solar farms but when some of the largest farmers in east Cork are selling large dairy farms for that purpose, we need to get real and get up to speed with things," he stated.
During the Dáil debate the Minister of State, Alan Dillon, said "as with the vast majority of development types, there are currently no specific planning guidelines in place in respect of solar energy development".
The minister added: "Proposals for individual solar energy developments are subject to the statutory requirements of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, in the same manner as other proposed developments.
"Planning applications are made to the relevant local planning authority, or An Bord Pleanála on appeal.
"Within the wider national and local planning context, planning authorities must make their decisions based on the specific merits of individual planning applications."
But last week Tánaiste Micheál Martin warned that it was important to balance "the effective use of solar power vis-à-vis the necessity of food security and food production".
"A balance is required in the aesthetics as well, in terms of how the country looks in the future.
"There is also the question of better utilisation of platforms for solar panelling other than green fields.
"I do not think the country would appreciate the entire green grass of Ireland, our 40 shades of green, being replaced with 40 shades of grey," the Tánaiste said.
