Vol. 555 No. 1
205 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions which would result from the proposed ban on the importation and sale of bituminous coal; and the measures he intends taking in relation to emissions in power generation which contributes in greater measures to sulphur dioxide pollution. [17576/02]
I refer to the reply to Question No. 272 of 5 February 2002 with regard to measures to reduce emissions of sulphur dioxide in the power generation sector.
As an outcome to the consultation document on a potential national ban on bituminous coal and petcoke issued by my Department in October 2001, a voluntary agreement was signed on 5 June 2002 by the then Minister of State, Deputy Dan Wallace, and the Solid Fuel Trade Group, which represents the principal importers and distributors of solid fuel in Ireland. A copy of the agreement is in the Oireachtas Library. It is estimated that the full implementation of the agreement will result in a reduction of 8,000-10,000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide annually.
Question No. 206 answered with Question No. 21.
