Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Micheál Martin for raising the important issue of air quality. We had a detailed discussion about this matter just last evening at the Cabinet sub-committee on the environment. We acknowledge that poor air quality has a severe impact on people's health. We are keen to act on this issue, and things have changed since the 1990s. We now know that peat briquettes and wood are as bad for air quality as smoky coal. Switching from smoky coal to those other solid fuels does nothing for air quality. There is also a serious risk of a legal challenge being taken on that basis that could bring the entire smoky coal ban down. We do not want to risk that happening because that would be bad for air quality as well. We are, however, moving towards a solution, and I believe the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, Deputy Bruton, will be able to make an announcement on this topic in the next few weeks.

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