asked the Minister for the Environment the names of those to be appointed to the committee established to consider the problem of smog in Dublin.
Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers. - Dublin Smog.
15.
The working party on policy for fuels in Dublin includes representatives from the Departments of Energy, the Environment and Finance and from Bord Gáis Éireann, the ESB and Eolas. It is not appropriate to name the individual public officials who have been appointed to serve on the working party.
Will the Minister explain why there is no representative of Bord na Móna on this working party? Does the Minister consider it appropriate that such a representative be appointed to it?
Bord na Móna are part of the Minister of State's party.
Did the Minister of State hear that remark?
I did. The Government decided on the people to be appointed to this committee. The purpose of this committee is to look at the feasibility of extending the gas mains and to take steps to maximise the domestic use of natural gas and the electricity option in the Dublin area. The Government did not appoint a representative from any of the solid fuel companies, including Bord na Móna. As the work of this committee is well under way it would not be appropriate to appoint additional members.
Is it the Minister's view that peat briquettes produced by Bord na Móna have no contribution to make towards solving the smog problem in Dublin?
That seems to be a separate matter.
On the contrary, Coalite, brown nuggets and all low smoke fuel have a contribution to make. They are available and I wish people would purchase them in greater quantities. However, the purpose of this committee is to look at the feasibility of expediting the connection of gas to more houses in the Dublin area.
Will the Minister agree that in her many recent statements to the media, she seems to be obsessed with CDL Coalite to the exclusion of Bord a Móna peat briquettes? After all, peat briquettes are recognised by the Minister for the Environment as satisfactory fuel to burn in Dublin when there is smog.
I do not accept that I have a hang-up about CDL and their products. It is not my intention or wish to promote the products of any company. The Department of the Environment wish to inform people of the facts and that is what we sought to do in the information leaflets which were distributed to every house in Dublin. I had a meeting this week with representatives of Bord na Móna and I should like to encourage people in the Dublin area to use their products and those of other companies which have a low bituminous content.
Is the Minister of State not more in favour of burning Irish briquettes as against South African coal? Having regard to that fact, is she now in a position to indicate to the House that this committee will report to her very quickly to enable her to order CDL to reduce the price of Coalite to that of bituminous coal to avoid the poison in the atmosphere over Dublin?
This question primarily relates to the names of persons appointed to the committee and we are deviating from that.
I agree with the Deputy that the committee should report as soon as possible. They were given a three months' deadline and, as they are in existence for one month, they will be reporting towards the end of February. Of course it is my wish to promote an Irish product as opposed to a foreign product, but the information which was distributed by my Department on the basis of the Eolas report into the different solid fuel options found that Coalite had an emission of 1.8 grammes per hour an average as against peat briquettes which had an emission of 14.8 grammes. It would be wrong of me not to give such information.
Did I understand the Minister of State to say that none of the Dublin local authorities is represented on the committee? If that is the case, should she not consider it desirable to have such representatives, who are, after all, responsible for the monitoring and designation of smoke-free areas?
The Deputy understood me correctly when I did not name anybody from the local authorities in Dublin. We know the problem and we have to find a permanent solution to it. That is why we thought it necessary to appoint the representatives I named so that they can complete their work as quickly as possible.