Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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686. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the way the smokeless fuel policy is policed by local authorities; the resources local authorities have to ensure such a scheme is policed; the number of persons that have received fines or warnings in relation to smoky coal from 2012 to date in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13440/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The regulatory provisions of the ban on the marketing, sale, distribution and use of bituminous fuel in specified ban areas are set out in the Air Pollution Act (Marketing, Sale, Distribution and Burning of Specified Fuels) Regulations 2012. The Regulations are enforced by authorised local authority personnel who may undertake inspections of premises and vehicles being used for the sale and distribution of solid fuel , as well as collect samples. A local authority may bring a prosecution under section 11 of the Air Pollution Act 1987 for breaches of the Regulations. The maximum penalty for breaches of the Regulations is a fine of €5,000 and/or imprisonment for up to six months on summary conviction.

The Regulations also require that each local authority submits annual returns to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), detailing activities undertaken relating to the implementation and enforcement of the Regulations in their functional areas. EPA figures show that in 2012, a total of 331 enforcement actions were initiated by local authorities. The returns for 2013 are not yet available. My Department has established a local authority implementation group (LAIG) for solid fuel enforcement. The LAIG serves as a forum to facilitate an exchange of information and intelligence between local authorities, the EPA and other interested parties with the aim of improving the consistency of implementation and enforcement of the Regulations. The LAIG meets 2-3 times per year and is attended by most local authorities, the EPA and my Department.

With regard to resource allocation for enforcement, it is a matter for each local authority to determine its own spending priorities in the context of the annual budgetary process, having regard to both locally identified needs and available resources.