Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister wants to ban people from rural communities - people in my community, my neighbour - from being able to purchase a load of turf come September. They do not have any other source of heating. Will the Minister tell me, if he applauds a just transition, where is the justice in that? This is a daft idea and that has been recognised across the political divide. The Minister is out of touch with the realities of people at this time. If the Government wants to ban smoky coal, it should ban coal. There is no opposition to that. Let us be clear, however. Do not ban turf until alternatives are there for the people who rely on it. We know fossil fuels are coming to an end. We know that people going to the bog is coming to an end. It is a practice that will phase out.

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