Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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391. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the regulations regarding the sale of smoky coal in smaller towns and villages in rural areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20375/19]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The sale of smoky coal is regulated under the Air Pollution Act (Marketing, Sale, Distribution and Burning of Specified Fuels Regulations 2012 (S.I. 326 of 2012), as amended. An unofficial consolidation of the Regulations is available on my Department's website at .

In smaller towns and villages in rural areas, outside the Low Smoke Zones, a person or body may not market, sell or distribute bituminous coal unless certain criteria are met. These include:

-a maximum sulphur content of 0.7% by weight

-The coal must be sold in a sealed bag which bears a notice in the form set out in Schedule 5 to the Regulations

-The product must be supplied by a bagging operator or solid fuel supplier registered with the Environmental Protection Agency and the operator must hold a current record setting out, inter alia, the registration number issued by the Agency and, where appropriate, the solid fuel supplier who supplied the product verifying that the product is compliant.

More generally, the Regulations also make it illegal to market, sell, distribute or burn for domestic heating purposes any solid fuel, whether it contains coal or not, having a sulphur content greater than 2% by weight on a dry ash-free basis.