Smoky fuel ban would be ‘an assault on rural Ireland’

The news that the government is looking at banning the burning of turf as part of an overall ban on the burning of all smoky fuels is “an assault on rural Ireland”.

That's according to Deputy Barry Cowen, who was responding to the news that the governing is to ask the public if it wants a ban on the burning of all smoky fuels – including turf, peat, wood and coal. It also emerged this week that Tullamore is one of 13 towns with populations between 10,000 and 15,000 where the ban on the burning of smoky coal is to be rolled out.

Tullamore coal merchant Eddie Dunne says that the news that the government is considering banning the burning of all smoky fuels has been the subject of much conversation with the public this week, with elderly customers in particular voicing concerns.

 “They are terrifying the living daylights out of older people,” he said.

Mr Dunne, proprietor of MJ Dunne's and Sons, has been a coal merchant for 35 years. He says that if the government plans to band the burning of smoky fuels, it has to come with an initiative that will make the transition affordable for people.

 In preparation for the ban on solid fuels, Mr Dunne's firm has already started supplying wood pellets, an environmentally friendly fuel source. The firm currently supplies homes and businesses in nine counties.

 If the firm didn't evolve, he says that the firm, which was established by his father Michael, wouldn't be here in five years time.

In a statement issued this week, Deputy Cowen said that if “it wasn’t enough for the government to decimate livelihoods in the Midlands through accelerated decarbonisation, they now want to put the final nail in the coffin by banning the production of turf and peat”.

“Banning peat and turf in the absence of a timely transition, without credible alternatives, in particular for a county like Offaly where 40% of homes burn turf as opposed to 5% nationally, is another assault on rural Ireland.

 “We know that solid fuels will be phased out as part of a climate action plan, but you cannot shut up shop on an industry overnight and except the region to survive – it won’t. There are no alternatives in place for the midlands. The €6 million Just Transition Fund isn’t going to cover a fraction of the losses experienced by the region.

Deputy Carol Nolan described the proposed ban as “regressive” and “misguided”.

“The idea that we would be considering banning fuel sources like peat and wood in the same week as the St Vincent de Paul report informed us that 10.5% of one-parent households could not afford to adequately heat their home and that energy poverty is a massive issue facing tens of thousands of families, simply beggar’s belief.

 “This is just yet another example of so called green policies that are detached from the reality of most ordinary people’s lives,” Deputy Nolan said.