Local authorities are set to get further powers to crack down on the sale of low quality smoky fuels.
In 2022, new laws banned the sale of the most polluting products across the entire country.
Nearly two years on, it seems the ban is being undermined by the sale of low-quality imports - mostly from Northern Ireland.
Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, climate policy researcher Sadhbh O’Neill said it is a matter of public health.
“The EPA report that up to 1,300 die every year from air pollution related illnesses,” she said.
“So, the extra particulates in smoky fuel are a particular cause of concern; they’re very, very dangerous - it’s possibly worse than passive smoking.
“So, back in 2019, the Government announced its intention to introduce a nationwide ban on smoky coal but due to lobbying from some of the fuel suppliers who said, ‘What about peat? What about wood and so on?’ It wasn’t possible to do that.
“Instead, they went a different route; they introduced a nationwide standard for the sale of smoky fuel - it had to reach a certain standard in terms of the particulate sulphur emissions in them.”
A traditional open hearth fire.The same standards for the manufacture and sale of fuel do not apply in Northern Ireland and, as a result, it has become cheaper to import such products from the North.
“This is a cause of some concern from the industry,” Ms O’Neill said.
“It’s actually the industry suppliers that alerted the Government to this fact that up to a third of fuels on sale are not compliant with the quality standard.”
Yesterday, Cabinet gave Environment Minister Eamon Ryan permission to draft the Air Pollution Act (Amendment) Bill, which the Government hopes will empower local authorities to tackle the sale of low-quality fuel.
“It’s obviously the case that the fuels are imported during the summer time and then sold during the winter,” Ms O’Neill said.
“So, it’s important to get a handle on it now and prevent the sale of these fuels coming on the market during the winter period.”
According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), the carbon emissions from Irish homes were twice the EU average in 2017.
Main image: A coal fire.
