27 March 2007

Other

Offshore wind farms

Ciarán Cuffe asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if he will put in place adequate public consultation and appeals procedures for the granting of planning permission for off-shore wind farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Communications, Marine, and Natural Resources
The granting of permission for the construction of Offshore Windfarms is governed by the Foreshore Act 1933. The EU Directive 2003/35/EC on Public Participation/Access to Justice, commonly known as the Public Participation Directive will be implemented for the Foreshore licensing consent process.

The Department's transposition of the Public Participation Directive will ensure that information on Offshore Windfarm projects, which are subject to the Environmental Impact Assessments under S.I. No. 220 of 1990, will be made available to the public at an earlier stage in the process.

The current Foreshore public consultation process, requires that notices are published in local and national newspapers informing the public that an application has been made for a Foreshore License, and that the Environmental Impact Assessment (including photomontages) are available in a publicly accessible place (e.g. Garda Station or Library), and this will continue. The period in which the public may submit comments on the application has now been extended to two months in the case of offshore electricity generating stations.

The inclusion of an appeals mechanism for Foreshore Lease/License applications,
which are subject to the Environmental Impact Assessments under EU Directive 85/337/EEC, will be considered. Additionally information on the factors influencing the decision making process will be available, when a decision on the license is made.

These measures will ensure that Public Participation in the Foreshore Licensing consent system for Offshore Windfarm projects is consistent with the Public Participation Directive.