Danny Healy-Rae slams rushed biomethane planning process
Danny Healy‑Rae criticised the government's handling of biomethane plant development, saying projects are being pushed through without adequate planning and community safeguards. He argued officials gave conflicting answers about planning permission, local plan rules and siting requirements, and raised concerns about 2030 targets and funding for farmers.
Danny Healy‑Rae told witnesses he believed the government and the department were "pushing this through" without due diligence. He challenged whether full planning permission and county development plan provisions were being applied consistently and said officials' responses appeared contradictory.
He questioned whether specific siting standards exist for biomethane plants, including any required distance from houses, and said he was not aware of any such stipulation. He emphasised that people who built their own homes expect their property values and living conditions to be protected.
He voiced scepticism about targets linked to 2030 and said he had not supported that deadline. He raised a series of figures discussed in the session, criticised perceived large sums being allocated, and said he had expected small grants to help farmers with excess slurry — not large‑scale commercial gas production using grass or maize.
Danny Healy‑Rae pressed for better community engagement and proper planning scrutiny, saying engagement to date ranged from good to poor. He urged planners and developers to ensure local concerns are addressed and for planning bodies to conduct full due diligence before approvals are granted.
Main concerns about planning process
Danny Healy‑Rae told witnesses he believed the government and the department were "pushing this through" without due diligence. He challenged whether full planning permission and county development plan provisions were being applied consistently and said officials' responses appeared contradictory.
Questions over regulations and distance from housing
He questioned whether specific siting standards exist for biomethane plants, including any required distance from houses, and said he was not aware of any such stipulation. He emphasised that people who built their own homes expect their property values and living conditions to be protected.
Funding, targets and farming implications
He voiced scepticism about targets linked to 2030 and said he had not supported that deadline. He raised a series of figures discussed in the session, criticised perceived large sums being allocated, and said he had expected small grants to help farmers with excess slurry — not large‑scale commercial gas production using grass or maize.
Community engagement and calls for due diligence
Danny Healy‑Rae pressed for better community engagement and proper planning scrutiny, saying engagement to date ranged from good to poor. He urged planners and developers to ensure local concerns are addressed and for planning bodies to conduct full due diligence before approvals are granted.
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Transcript
Thank you very much. It's very clear to me, and no disrespect to the two witnesses here, that the government is pushing this through, and the department has pushed it through, without due diligence and planning, because I don't think, from what I've heard, that you have to go for planning, permission, to get one of these things built. Is that right or wrong? No, no, you have to go through full planning. We do have to, yeah. And, like, is it in the Carrad County Development Plan? Is there a strict set of guidelines? Do you have to be a kilometre away from an existing house? No. I don't believe so, no. You've no regulations? It's not specifically to biomethane, although biomethane is recognised in the National Planning Framework and in the Planning and Development Act, specific standards that you're describing there. I don't believe they are set out, no. Well, this is very concerning, because people's home is their castles, and there's so many people without houses. But I applaud the people that have built their own houses and want to ensure that their value is maintained and that they don't have to suffer these things beside them. And it's absolutely reprehensive to me that the planning regulator will stick his nose into Carrad County Colson and the county development plan when we're looking for to zone land and to help people to build houses. And at the same time, he'll know we're bothered about this. All I see at the back of this is that we must meet certain targets by 2030. I didn't vote for a deadline of 2030, and I never will, and that's for sure. But what's at the back of this is... And to think that there's a figure of 5 million there for someone, and we know people and small businesses that are down their knees trying to stay home until next July, hope they'll get the return of their... And I hear you mention a figure. I mean, if we're even slow to give the plowmen, the tillagemen, 50 million, we don't know what they've got. Because I was told different figures, we've told they've got 30 million, that they've got 50 million, and they were looking for 60 million. Some other people are going to give them 80 million. And I don't know have they any million got. But this is absolutely ridiculous. What I thought by all the gestures were something to help farmers if they had an excess of slurry, because most of them are compliant now. You know, they have slatted sheds built, and they have a lot of money spent themselves. But I thought it was to help the likes of them with small grants, or to give them whatever grant was needed to get them going if they had a problem, and with this nitrous derogation and everything. Now, what I see, this is at the back of this, come hell or high water, we must have these things in place to produce this amount of gas, whether it is good grass we'll put into it, or maize, like I see in the North of Ireland yesterday. Tractor loads, there were lorry loads, passing each other out, going to this place to produce gas. I mean, there's a place called stop. And this is totally against what I thought, it's totally different to what I thought it was going to be. And look, I'm not disrespecting the world for you do your job, and you're doing fine, and you're fine by me, but the people that's in the inn here, and that were more or less saying, engage with communities. What is engaging with communities if they're in certain? I mean, what is it for a half a village or a half a town complaining if this thing is landing in beside them, and that there's no rule or law on the county development plan, because the county development plan is sacrosanct to what goes on in the local authority area. And myself and Willie have been members of each individual local authority, and others of each. Yeah, but, like, that is my concern. There don't seem to be no place that this can be trashed out, and that planners will get a proper due diligence. When, just, for instance, when a fellow puts in planning permission for a house, his thing is sent to the environment, to send to water services, to send to roads, to send to all the different bodies, to measure it and come back with an answer, and then the planner finally makes it this. Like, this isn't happening in this case, is it? In the time available? Just a couple of points. There is going to be benefits for local communities and farmers for, in relation to the development of these plants, whether it's jobs, additional income stream for the farmer, improved water quality in the local community. So there are a lot of benefits for the local community. That didn't answer my question, sir. My question is... Answer it. Yeah, but he's saying that jobs and all the other benefits, but there is no proper planning process where this can be... There's no specification as to where this can be put, and this will be sorted. What distance do you have to be from a house with it? Is that stipulation in any part of the regulations? Specifically in relation to distance from housing, I'm not aware of it, no. But there is... You do have to go through full planning permission to get these plans built. As with any build, yeah. And I think you touched on a couple of points there. But, you see, I know all Cedar planners, they look at the guy... They look at what they have... Please give the witness an opportunity to answer. They look at what they have... They look at what they have... Please give the witness an opportunity to answer. Please give the witness an opportunity to answer. I'm sorry. No, I just think it's an important thing to note. There's good engagement and there's poor engagement. And I think a couple of the members from the previous meeting said there was no, little to no engagement or just direct on a house. And I think that has to change. And I think the plant, when Netfam were in from Ballinrol, there was no objections there. So I think it's our job now to start engaging with developers to tell them, here's the best way to do this, here's the way to do that. You see, there's no compulsion on them. But I think on the other side... There's no compulsion on them, Chairman, to do that at all. They can say they met a couple of fellas down the road and they would agree with it, but the fellas that were against it, there's no counterme. We need to move on to Senator...