Pringle calls for review of wind farm guidelines in light of peat slide
- Updated: 18th November 2020
Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, today called on Government to commit to a comprehensive review of wind farm guidelines, following the recent peat slide at Meenbog, near Ballybofey.
In the Dáil today, Deputy Pringle said: “The potential for a disaster such as this has been well flagged by campaigners, due to the inadequacy of the governance of the industry. A narrow review was started by the Fine Gael/Labour government in 2013 but it still hasn’t concluded.”
Deputy Pringle asked: “Will your government, Taoiseach, commit to a comprehensive review of the outdated 2006 guidelines once and for all, in light of the Meenbog disaster and the likes of Derrybrien, which has cost over €2 million in fines to date and is clocking up €15,000 more every single day due to government inaction?”
The deputy referred to the video of the landslide, which took place near Meenbog Wind Farm outside Ballybofey. A video showing a row of standing trees slipping downstream was viewed and shared widely on social media.
Deputy Pringle said: “There is quite a lot of footage showing the extent of the environmental disaster and its impact on a sensitive location.
“It makes for stark viewing, Taoiseach,” he said.
