Mary Byrne, Wind Aware Ireland

DEAR SIR: Minister Alan Kelly met with Wind Aware Ireland during his recent visit to Laois County Council.

Wind Aware outlined the major problems regarding the current energy policy which is deeply flawed and has been criticised by many noted commentators. Wind energy has been shown to be ineffective at reducing CO2 and contributes significantly to rising electricity costs. Wind Aware Ireland called on this Government to pause the development of wind farms pending proper analysis.

The minister is currently revising the wind energy guidelines which deal with appropriate setback from dwellings, noise and shadow flicker from wind turbines. David Reid from the Westmeath Alliance outlined that Ireland’s current limit for wind turbine noise is more than quadruple the World Health Organization (WHO) night noise limits and is out of sync with other European countries.

The Government has an opportunity now with the new guidelines to set prudent safety limits to protect Irish families. Is the Irish State prepared to risk sacrificing the health of its citizens and face legal challenges in the future similar to the Army deafness cases?