This article is from page 2 of the 2011-06-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
A DECISION to extend the so-called ‘Smoky Coal Ban’ to include Ennis may raise fuel costs and hit elderly people the hardest, according to one local coal merchant.
Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Phil Hogan TD announced last week that, with effect from August 1, Ennis will be added to the list of towns and cities covered by the ‘Smoky Coal Ban’, under which it is illegal to market, sell, or distribute bituminous or ‘smoky’ coal.
While coal merchants have welcomed the plans to reduce air pollution, some say that the cost of new smokeless fuel allied to the imposition of a carbon tax will be too much for some sections of the community.
Coal and gas merchant, Michael O’Brien, explained that while some smokeless coal is “very good” other products are “dirt”. He said customers are unconvinced by a lot of smokeless coal, which he said can be difficult to light. Mr O’Brien, who has run a coal and fuel business for 20 years, said that as a result many homeowners stopped burning coal and “went back to buying heating oil”.
Good quality smokeless coal, he said, was typically € 1-€ 2 dearer in price. He added, “That would put elderly people in fierce trouble. Over the last winter, you had people staying inside with their coats, not buying coal.” Mr O’Brien said business had declined by almost 50 per cent over the past two winters.
A spokesman for Ennis-based Galvin Coal and Solid Fuel Merchants said there were a lot of “grey areas” in the ban. He said it was still unclear whether the ban applied to the burning or selling of bituminous coal. He explained, “It seems to apply to sellers within the zone (Ennis) but then it seems that people are free to go outside the zone, buy it and burn it in Ennis, which is ridiculous.”
Welcoming plans to reduce air pollution, the spokesman said the coal industry had been affected by the recession.
He added,“I did see a massive increase in the sale of cheap coal. It’s the first winter I saw that.”