Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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38. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the measures that retailers with unsold smoky coal and other prohibited fuels are now expected to take with their leftover stock, for which they have already paid; if he will consider ways to assist these retailers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55229/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Air Pollution Act 1987 (Solid Fuels) Regulations 2022 introduce minimum quality standards that apply to all solid fuels distributed throughout the State. This will ensure that the most polluting can no longer be made available on the Irish market and will assist the public in transitioning to less polluting alternatives.

New regulations on the use of solid fuels for domestic heating are necessary as each year some 1,300 people die prematurely in Ireland from illnesses which are caused or exacerbated by air pollution from solid fuel burning. It is further 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. I remain committed to addressing this critical public health and environmental challenge.

There is no period of grace for any solid fuel producer or retailer after the effective date of the regulations. 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 a sufficient period to run down existing stocks and plan accordingly for the introduction of the new regulatory framework. Over the past year, officials from my Department have also 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.