Wind turbines destroying ‘our county and our country’ council told

The current windfarm planning guidelines are almost 20 years old and are in desperate need of being updated, the July meeting of Roscommon County Council heard.

At the meeting, CIlrs Tom Crosby and Valerie Byrne called on the local authority to suspend all planning applications for wind turbine developments within the county until the forthcoming legislation is fully enacted.

Their motion stated that in May 2025, the Dáil introduced Stage 1 of the Wind Turbine Regulation Bill 2025, which proposes “vital reforms to address long-standing concerns relating to wind energy infrastructure”.

This Bill, they said, included provisions for mandatory setback distances between turbines and residential properties, strict noise regulation standards, and stronger requirements for community engagement.

“This temporary suspension will ensure that all future wind energy proposals in the county align with best practices, and protect local communities,” the councillors’ motion said.

In response the council said that following a comprehensive review of the proposed motion, it was obliged to advise that it was not legally empowered to implement the motion as framed.

Speaking on the motion, Cllr Crosby said he and others had attended a public meeting in Ballyfeeney in relation to a proposed six turbine windfarm in the Kilglass area, which he said was a picturesque, high amenity area close to the Shannon.

“The situation is clear. The current guidelines are from 2006 and are now almost 20 years old. There are updated guidelines in the pipeline and it is hoped that they will be implemented either in late 2025 or 2026. This will change the whole picture in terms of planning.” He said that similar motions had been passed by other county councils around the country.

The independent councillor said that he was in favour of renewable energy “but there is a place for all this”.

“We are trying to promote this area for tourism,” he said, suggesting that wind turbines should be placed off shore. He also suggested that the council get further legal advice to see whether it could defer wind turbine planning applications.

“The height of these wind turbines has more than doubled but with the same set back distances,” he said.

Cllr Valerie Byrne said she could not understand why the new guidelines were taking so long.

“My thinking is they want all these big companies in with their money before the law changes,” she said.

She told the meeting she understood that turbines were also being proposed between Elphin and Frenchpark.

“Most of that is bog. We’re not allowed to cut a sod of turf, but we were allowing the installation of wind turbines,” she said.

Cllr Micheál Frain supported his Boyle MD colleagues, as did Cathaoirleach Liam Callaghan, Cllr Sean Moylan and Cllr Leah Cull.

Cllr Callaghan suggested that the council write to the developers of the turbine wind farm in Ballyfeeney and Tully, asking them to hold the application until the new guidelines were in place.

Cllr Cull said that the delay in forming new guidelines was causing serious upset around the country.

Cllr John Keogh said that the 2006 guidelines were almost an exact copy of the UK guidelines from the early ‘90s, and he said he was not optimistic of the new guidelines being published anytime soon. While he fully understood why the motion was being proposed, he said it was not within the council’s remit to stop anyone from submitting planning applications.

Cllr Tony Ward said he had “huge concerns” about the removal of turbines, saying it would be a significant problem in the future.

Cllr Crosby said that it was the role of the councillors to put pressure on the minister to suspend planning applications until the guidelines were updated.

Cllr Byrne said that wind turbines were destroying “our county and our country”.

Council chief executive Shane Tiernan reiterated that the executive could not comply with the original motion, but would proceed with a proposal to write to the minister about the guidelines. He also said that the council did not need any further legal opinion about planning procedures.