Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
836. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will clarify the status of a report submitted to him by the Planning Regulator/An Bord Pleanála regarding the wind energy policy adopted by Kilkenny County Council; and if he will outline the next steps in the process and an indicative timeframe for a decision. [17762/23]
View answerPursuant to a recommendation received from the Office of the Planning Regulator, on 15 October 2021 the then Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Peter Burke TD, wrote to the Chief Executive of Kilkenny County Council giving notice of his intention to issue a Direction in relation to the Kilkenny City and County Development Plan 2021-2027. A draft of the proposed Direction was contained in the notice in accordance with Section 31(4) of the Planning and Development Act 2000, and accordingly those parts of the Development Plan referred to in the notice shall be taken not to have come into effect, been made or amended.
The draft Direction was made available for public inspection by Kilkenny County Council and submissions were invited during a two week period between 29 October 2021 and 12 November 2021. Subsequently, the Chief Executive of Kilkenny County Council prepared a report dated 10 December 2021 on submissions received during this period and made a recommendation on how to give effect to the draft Direction. The Office of the Planning Regulator considered this report and on 10 January 2022 issued a notice under Section 31AN(4) of the Act recommending that the Minister issue the Direction with minor amendments, consistent with the recommendation contained in the Chief Executive’s Report.
This recommendation remains under consideration by me in light of recent policy developments in the areas concerned.
