David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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64. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to introduce national guidelines to manage the development of large-scale solar farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41434/24]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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This question relates to the possible need to introduce national guidelines to manage the development of large-scale solar farms. In my part of the country, we are seeing hundreds of acres being earmarked for solar farms. As the Tánaiste stated last week, we are talking about 40 shades of green turning into 40 shades of grey.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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As with the vast majority of development types, there are currently no specific planning guidelines in place in respect of solar energy development. 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. In making such decisions, including in respect of a large-scale solar energy development, a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála, as appropriate, must consider the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, having regard to the provisions of the development plan, including any zoning objectives, submissions or observations received from the public and statutory consultees and any other relevant ministerial or Government policies, including any guidelines issued by the Department. While the Department is satisfied that the planning code is sufficiently robust to facilitate the assessment of individual planning applications for solar energy developments, the matter is being kept under review.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response, but I put it to him that the development of large-scale - I am talking about hundreds of acres - solar farms is very new. While we have national guidelines on the production of renewable energy that seem to dictate planning guidelines, there are no guidelines on large-scale solar farms. This involves the transformation of whole townlands and tracts of land. As far as the eye can see they are turning grey. Is it not about time the Government went beyond reviewing this and took action to balance this with the issue of production of renewable energy, which we are all in favour of? Does the Minister of State agree that there are many other options, such as roofs of farm buildings, which could be used for solar panels, rather than turning good arable land into wasteland, if you will, in that it can never be used again for growing food, at a time when there may be food and forage scarcity.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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We have made the existing and evolving planning system sufficiently robust with regard to large-scale solar developments. Through the revised national planning framework, the Government and the Oireachtas are allocating and integrating the regional spacial and economic strategies.

That in turn will inform city and county development plans and lead to the identification of large-scale solar energy development, which will be directed towards the most appropriate areas.

On the Deputy's more general point regarding the suitability of lands and types of development, there is a commitment to a land use review to ensure land use options are informed by factors relevant to Government decisions, including with regard to renewable energy projects. We want to see a plan-led approach to county development plans, which will now be extended through the revised planning and development Act that will be enacted for a period of ten years. There are no specific guidelines but there is more planning at the early stages.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Does the Minister of State agree a convenient grid connection will lead to many applications for solar farms at a particular location? As a result of that, a whole region could be converted into a super solar farm. Does the Minister of State agree there should be guidelines in place nationally to ensure this does not happen? If you live in an area with nothing but grey glass as far as the eye can see, surely that is not desirable, particularly when there are so many roofs of farm and community buildings all over the country that are sitting there waiting to be converted to this use.

Another issue in my part of the country is that these solar farms could lead to flooding because the soakage of water that flows off them is concentrated in rivulets which can cause flooding. My God, my town had its fair share of that this time last year. Time is running short in this Government's cycle, but I ask that the Department would have a serious look at this because it is growing very quickly

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I support Deputy Stanton. There is a shared border between Cork North-Central and Cork East. My home parish of Knockraha is in Deputy Stanton's electoral area. That could become an epicentre for these, given there is a large substation in Knockraha. 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.

I am a councillor since 2014 and we have been talking about the lack of guidelines since then. Here we are a decade later, saying the same things. The Minister of State is only in the door a relatively short time but we need to get serious about this because there are communities where this is a major blight on the landscape. 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.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí. We have made recent changes to planning legislation to facilitate solar energy development. The Deputies might remember in October 2022 there was a significant enhancement of the existing provisions regarding planning exemptions for rooftop solar installations. That allowed the erection of solar panels on apartments and certain other buildings, including hospitals, libraries and workplaces, with certain conditions and limitations.

I will take the Deputies' points on board regarding individual solar energy developments. They are subject to statutory requirements within subsequent planning applications, determined at local level and subject to public participation. It is free and open to any consultees to make observations in regard to these developments. It is a reserved function for councillors to determine what suitability of a planning application should be assigned within the county development plan. We will look at this in the context of what is happening in Cork and I will talk to my officials in that regard.