Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is everywhere. It covers the sale of smoky coal. It will not be possible to sell such coal; it will not be available in this country.

The Deputy asked several questions and I will try to answer as many as possible. Smokeless coal has been tested. From a fuel poverty point of view, this type of coal is able to deliver. There have been questions about it in the past but the technology has moved on and we are quite confident in respect of it.

I agree with the Deputy about diversification in respect of peat. There are no plans to do anything else. What we are doing is designed to deal with smoky coal. This is the initiative I have announced but we share a common interest in this. There are huge opportunities for Bord na Móna and other organisations in respect of diversification of products and building product, particularly in the biomass area, to extend the lifetimes of bogs. There is a great deal of work ongoing with several of those companies, particularly in respect of biomass briquettes and other products.

This ban comes into effect in the Republic of Ireland. Through the North-South Ministerial Council, I have been in discussions with my colleague, Mark Durkan, regarding Northern Ireland. We have undertaken some joint studies on this. I hope that the Northern Ireland Executive will follow our lead and come with us on such a ban because it would be preferable to have the same policy North and South. Somebody had to jump and from a health point of view, I felt it was necessary. When I saw the studies on Killarney and other towns, there was no way I was not going to do this.

The Deputy has raised issues about houses with solid walls previously. There are other issues in respect of those houses. I have asked the Department, in conjunction with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, to examine what diversification measures could be incorporated into the solutions we are giving local authorities because I am aware of those issues from my constituency.

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