Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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125. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of the new solid fuel regulations; the date that the regulations will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28382/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I remain committed to introducing new regulations on the use of solid fuels for domestic heating in Ireland as announced last September. These regulations will introduce minimum quality standards that will apply across all solid fuels, to ensure that the most polluting can no longer be made available on the Irish market and to assist the public in transitioning to less polluting alternatives. The new regulations are necessary as each year some 1,300 people die prematurely in Ireland due to air pollution from solid fuel burning. It is estimated that there are over 16,200 life years lost, while many people also experience a poor quality of life due to the associated short-term and long-term health impacts of this form of pollution.

Throughout the course of three different forms of public consultation, undertaken over the past 18 months, the direction of travel has been made clear. To address this public health and environmental crisis, new solid fuel regulations will be introduced across a range of fuels to ensure that the most polluting will no longer be available for general sale on the Irish market and that as particulate matter comes from burning not only bituminous coal but other solid fuels, that we must now regulate to improve the standards of all fuels available on our market. 

Government has been equally clear that turf cutting by citizens for use in their own homes is a traditional activity across many peatlands and that measures are required to reduce the emissions associated with burning peat, but which respect these traditions.

The regulations which will ultimately be agreed by Government will ensure, that while measures are introduced to enhance the quality of our air, they will not impinge upon traditional local practices associated with sod peat.