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A “pragmatic” solution can be found to the controversial proposed ban on the commercial sale of turf, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
Many rural TDs, including Government backbenchers, have criticised the proposed ban – which is being introduced to improve air quality – claiming it would hit vulnerable parts of rural Ireland where turf is used for heating and cooking.
In a bid to address these concerns Minister for Environment Eamon Ryan has proposed an amendment which would see households in small villages or people living in rural one-off homes still be allowed to burn turf or sell small amounts to family and neighbours without being penalised.
The ban is due to come into force in September at the same time as a State-wide ban on smoky coal.
Speaking prior to this morning’s Cabinet meeting, Mr Martin said Dublin had been a “very polluted city environment” in the 1990s, when “smoky coal was all over the place”.
Legislation to ban smoky coal had “a dramatic and transformative impact on the quality of the air that we breathe and it saved many lives”, he said.
Ultimately smoky coal was “the villain, the real enemy” and turf was “dying out as a basic fuel”, added Mr Martin.
“We want to be pragmatic about this and get a solution to the fact that many people in rural Ireland, in parts of the west and midlands, use turf from bogs they have or share with their neighbours.
“It’s not proposed to ban that. I think a pragmatic solution will be found.”
Any measures brought in would have an impact next winter, because by the time they were introduced, this year’s harvest would already have been saved, he explained.
Traditional practices
A Sinn Féin motion seeking to scrap the ban is to be debated in the Dáil this evening and Mr Ryan will meet Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs ahead of that debate in a bid to allay their concerns.
Ahead of these discussions, Fine Gael leader and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has emphasised the need to ensure traditional rights and practices are maintained for people who rely on turf.
Former ministers Michael Ring, Charlie Flanagan and Barry Cowen have criticised the plan. Mr Ring, a former minister for rural and community development, described proposed turf cutting restrictions as “the wrong regulations at the wrong time”.
The proposals were “a step too far” for some people, he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland. It was a “daft” proposal and he called on Mr Ryan to reconsider it.
Fianna Fáil TD Mr Cowen said the proposed ban “won’t wash” and is “not the solution”. He said towns such as Tullamore, Birr and other places with populations of more than 500 people are home to vulnerable households that have not made the switch from solid fuels for their heating needs. He said their needs must be respected and that Mr Ryan’s proposal does “little to assure” such households.
Fine Gael TD Mr Flanagan said of the proposed exemption: “It doesn’t appear to me to be a legally enforceable or practical solution.”
Green Party Junior Minister Pippa Hackett, who is responsible for Land and Biodiversity, said the aim was to improve air quality and save. “I think the proposals are fair as they stand.”
Senator Hackett said Mr Ring’s description of the proposals as “daft” was unfortunate and added that thousands of people had died over the last few years because of the failure to bring in such regulations in the past.
The focus would be on air quality problems in urban centres around the country. “Is there ever a right time,” she said, in response to Mr Ring’s comments. “Any time that saves lives is the right time. It seems it’s always the wrong time for deputies like Michael Ring.”