• Deadline for removal has passed
• Turbine still turning

Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe has warned that there will be an escalation by Clare County Council unless a controversial wind turbine erected in Parteen is removed as requested.

The developer was mandated by a planning enforcement order to remove the windmill on his property by Thursday, April 8^th but this has yet to happen.

“As of now, the structure hasn’t been removed and still stands 100m tall over the surrounding village and homes,” said Deputy Crowe.

“Throughout the four-week period through which the developer was required to comply with this directive, the windmill rotated and operated on an almost continual basis which really frustrated residents.

“I have made the council aware of this and have asked them to expediently now move this dispute to its next phase, which may now involve a legal process up to and including a court case and possible a hefty fine.

“In the month since the enforcement order was issued by Clare County Council, we have seen a very positive announcement made by the ESB in terms of developing a colossal offshore windfarm along the Clare and Kerry coasts.

“I really see this as being the future of renewable energy both in Clare and the West of Ireland, with this development alone having the capacity to provide electricity to 85 percent of all Irish homes.

“We need quickly to move to an economy that’s more dependent on renewable energy but in the national rush to develop this infrastructure, we can’t install it at inappropriate locations on an ad hoc basis.

“I think that the siting of a windmill in a village centre is entirely inappropriate, owing to the scale of it and its dominance in the skyline.

“Many people in Clare struggle to obtain planning permission to build homes and often must lower the roof height in order to be granted permission – yet it’s wrong in an area that’s residential and largely made up of bungalows and dormers that a structure seven or eight times their height would be allowed to be built.

“The Parteen wind turbine is of similar height to Big Ben at Westminster in London – it’s far too large for its location.

“Going forward there’s an urgent need for the new wind energy guidelines which are at a very advanced stage and undergoing final scrutiny with the department to be formally issued to all local authorities.

“A very delicate balance has to be struck between achieving a low carbon emission economy and also not landing colossal and intrusive infrastructure on top of communities.

“The new draft guidelines crucially will include a stipulation that wind turbines should be set back at least 500m from nearby homes.

“I think that this stipulation will ensure that future wind turbines will only be developed in the most rural parts of out countryside and also increasingly on an offshore basis.

“The ticking clock has run out in Parteen and now it is imperative that Clare County Council quickly move to escalate matters so that the wind turbine there is dismantled and that the field in which it’s located is restored to its normal agricultural state in the quickest possible time.”

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• Airlines need significant post-Covid boost
• Cheap flights will be key

Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Tourism and Aviation Cathal Crowe is calling on Transport Minister Eamon Ryan to renege on comments he has made about budget flights in a post-Covid world.

Speaking to The Irish Examiner, Minister Ryan has said that €10 flights will become a thing of the past as we continue the climate fight.

While supportive of climate measures, Deputy Crowe has reacted with dismay at these comments, at a time when the aviation sector is on its knees.

“It’s absurd that there would be any talk of ending discounted flights in the post-Covid era,” said Deputy Crowe.

“Aviation is at its lowest all-time ebb and right now those who work in the tourism and aviation sectors need to hear positive talk about how this sector will be stimulated and supported in the months ahead.

“Talk of reducing climate emissions and putting an end to discounted air fares has potential undertones of hefty carbon levies for the sector and it has left many feeling both concerned and frustrated.

“Flights in and out of Ireland for the past 12 months have, in the main, only been for essential travel and in bound shipments of PPE and medical equipment but everyone dreams of a normal return to international air travel, as the vaccination rollout ramps up.

“The European Commission is devising a new regulation titled the Digital Green Certificate which should make it far easier for passengers to travel internationally as the Covid situation improves but experts in the aviation sector continue to warn us that it could take four to five years for airlines to make a full recovery to 2019 levels.

“If this is the case, which I have no reason to doubt, then any plans to burden airlines and the wider aviation sector with additional environmental levies or charges should be put on hold.

“The opposite is needed at this time. The sector needs a financial adrenaline shot and a suite of policies at both national and European level that ensures planes are back in the skies and vital connectivity is restored.

“A below-par aviation recovery would impact Ireland most of all, due to our peripheral geographic location and our high dependency on inbound and outbound traffic to North America.

“As a TD for Clare, I am particularly concerned that it has been months since any commercial flight departed or landed at Shannon Airport.

“There has been a real sense of worry in this region for many months but yet there is now an emerging hope that we would get back to some normality shortly and the announcement last week that Ryanair were committing to a summer service from Shannon to Corfu has given cause for much hope.

“I hope that Minister Eamon Ryan will reconsider some of his comments relating to bargain air fares and also hope that he will, as our Transport Minister, champion for European-wide supports for the ailing aviation sector.”

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