Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 June 2022
162. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications his plans to introduce a smoky fuel ban across Dublin city and cities and towns across the country building on the current Dublin smoky coal ban; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34441/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI remain committed to introducing new regulations on the use of solid fuels for domestic heating in Ireland, as announced last September which builds on the model that currently applies across Dublin and other low smoke zones.The new regulations will introduce minimum quality standards that will apply across all solid fuels, across the entire State, to ensure that the most polluting fuels can no longer be made available on the Irish market and to assist the public in transitioning to less polluting alternatives.The new regulations are necessary as each year some 1,300 people die prematurely in Ireland due to air pollution from solid fuel burning. It is estimated that there are over 16,200 life years lost, while many people also experience a poor quality of life due to the associated short-term and long-term health impacts of this form of pollution.
