Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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149. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the just transition arrangements and supports that are in place for registered coal merchants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55568/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The new solid fuel regulations came into force on 31 October this year and introduced minimum quality standards that now apply to solid fuels distributed throughout the State. This is 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. In September 2021, I announced that the regulations would come into effect for the 2022/2023 heating season. I made the announcement at that time in order to allow retailers sufficient time to run down existing stocks and plan accordingly for the introduction of the new regulatory framework. No new support measures have been introduced for coal merchants as a result of the new regulations. Over the past year, officials from my Department have been working with retailer representative bodies to support the transition to the new regulations, and have been running an awareness campaign for the past number of months to inform retailers and producers of their responsibilities. More information for retailers can be found at: www.gov.ie/cleanair/