Vol. 446 No. 5
28 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for the Environment if he will extend the ban on the sale, marketing and distribution of bituminous coal to all major urban centres of population; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2342/94]
Wexford): The ban on the sale, marketing and distribution of coal which was introduced in the Dublin area in 1990 was designed to remedy a situation in which air quality standards for smoke had been regularly breached for several years. I have recently announced that a similar coal ban will be introduced in the Cork City area on a precautionary basis. The combined annual cost of the special fuel allowance associated with the coal ban in Dublin and Cork will be some £7.2 million.
The Government has demonstrated its readiness to extend the coal ban as circumstances require. However, its application must, given the significant costs involved, be targeted on situations of proven serious smoke pollution by reference to statutory air quality standards. In this regard, it should be noted that average annual smoke concentrations for Cork city have been running at twice the annual average of other areas in the country.
