Cullen said the plan would "bolster the Government's national climate change strategy and reduce our dependency on dirty fossil fuels".

"Ireland has a very challenging national climate change target," he said. "We must reduce our dependency on oil to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions."

He said the government guidelines challenged preconceptions about where wind farms should be located.

"There has been a perception that designating an area for natural heritage reasons or due to the presence of rare birds will prevent any wind farm developments proposals going ahead there."

"The guidelines show how these impacts can be mitigated by prospective applicants and planning authorities working together and agreeing on measures to avoid or minimise potential adverse effects."

Cullen was speaking at a wind farm at Carnsore Point in the southeast of the country.

Carnsore saw the emergence of Ireland's first major anti-nuclear protests in the late 1970s.

Ireland has no nuclear power stations but 25 years ago the government-owned Electricity Supply Board had planned to build four reactors with a combined output of 3,000 megawatts on Carnsore.

SPACE.WIRE