Lemanaghan residents join Dail protest on wind farm guidelines

Members of the Lemanaghan Bog Heritage and Conservation Group joined forces with environmental and community groups from across Ireland in a friendly yet determined protest outside Dáil Éireann last week.

The event, organised by the Communities & Environmental Protection Alliance (CEPA), aimed to advocate for stringent statutory regulations governing the operation of wind farms in Ireland.

The primary goal of the demonstration, titled "Dáil Gathering for Robust Wind-farm Regulations," was to call for the implementation of statutory regulation and monitoring of wind farms. This is seen as a crucial step towards ensuring the sustainable and responsible operation of these renewable energy sources.

One of the key demands of the protestors was a halt on all wind energy planning and development activities until new planning regulations and guidelines for wind energy are established. This measure is seen as necessary to safeguard the communities they aim to serve.

In response to the protest, Taoiseach Simon Harris promised that new planning guidelines for wind farms would be introduced by the end of the year. He emphasized his belief in increasing wind energy but insisted that it must be done in a way that involves and benefits local communities.

"We are listening, and we're going to revise the 2006 guidelines once and for all," Harris said, addressing the concerns raised during the protest.