Vol. 476 No. 2
113 Mr. D. Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment if it is possible for estates around the country to have their area declared a smokeless zone; the assistance, if any, his Department or the relevant local authority can give in this respect. [5084/97]
Part IV of the Air Pollution Act, 1987, provided for the designation by individual local authorities of special control areas, subject to confirmation by the Minister for the Environment. However, the policy was adopted in 1990 of applying coal bans by means of a prohibition on the marketing, sale and distribution of coal within specified areas. This approach is based on regulations under section 53 of the Air Pollution Act, 1987, made by the Minister for the Environment to whom local authorities are, of course, free to make representations, based on local environmental conditions. These arrangements, in practice, supersede the designation of special control areas by local authorities under the 1987 Act.
