MINISTER FOR the Environment John Gormley has been criticised for failing to turn up in the Dáil for a debate on measures that will deny members of local communities the right to object to the building of wind turbines and biomass energy plants.
Labour Party spokesman Ciaran Lynch condemned the way the measures were forced through the Dáil yesterday without debate.
"The Minister did not even do the House the courtesy of being present for the vote. It seems he was elsewhere attending to Green Party business at the time," said Mr Lynch.
He said the proposals were designed to grant planning exemption to a whole range of developments, among them 20m wind turbines; 300sq m combined heat and power systems, with flues up to 20m; and biomass systems with 20m flues.
Mr Lynch said the exemptions were made by Ministerial Order under the 2000 Planning Act, but the power to grant such exemptions was questioned at the time by John Gormley, who told the Dáil that the planning process should be "a more people-friendly and community-friendly" system.
"Now he wants to make it less people-friendly and reduce transparency. Had he bothered to turn up in the Dáil, maybe he could have explained to us why he has had such a dramatic change of heart," said Mr Lynch.
He said one of his major concerns was that, since these developments were being exempted from the planning system, there would be no requirement for an environmental impact statement.
"I am also concerned that significant developments such as these are being classed in the same bracket as a small house extension or porch. That doesn't make any sense at all. These developments are much more complex, and local people should not be denied the opportunity to express concerns or to make submissions when they are being proposed," said Mr Lynch.
He said the Labour Party was fully supportive of increasing Ireland's renewable energy capacity but he said that should not be at the expense of transparency and due process.