'Nobody wants to be taking out ashes but we need an affordable alternative' says Offaly councillor

WE need an affordable alternative to turf an Offaly Independent councillor has said.

At the monthly meeting of Tullamore Municipal District, Councillor Ken Smollen said he disagreed with the new Solid Fuel Regulations for Ireland which came into effect on October 31, this year.

''I totally disagree with these. There are huge amounts of people in Offaly that depend on the purchase and use of turf. I think it's extremely unfair. It's not only elderly people but people who don't have a lot of money, they depend on it too. Yet there is no affordable alternative being made available. It's easy to say yes we will stop cutting turf and we will stop burning coal. This is going to leave people getting turf and coal supplies from outside the county. Even from Northern Ireland that's going to happen whether we like it or not. We just need an affordable alternative.

Nobody wants to be taking out ashes. Turf is hard work from the word go and everybody would love to have a greener alternative but it's just not available and an alternative is not affordable,'' he said.

Earlier Senior Engineer with Offaly County Council, Mary Hussey said ''the primary focus of these regulations is on improving air quality and improving people’s health chances and outcomes by restricting the retail, online and commercial sale of smoky fuels, including smoky coal, turf and wet wood. These fuels are proven to be a major contributor to air pollution in Ireland,'' she said.

Ms Hussey said the regulations are made under the Air Pollution Act and as with the previous solid fuel regulations, the Local Authorities are primarily responsible for the enforcement of the regulations within their functional areas.

She said the regulations are not intended to prohibit the sale of turf from one family to another family, or to prohibit people saving turf on their own land.

People with turbary rights and all other customary practices in respect of turf will be unaffected by these regulations. They will continue to be able to cut turf for their own use and will retain the ability to gift or sell turf. However, no sale of turf may take place by way of the internet or other media (i.e. advertising in local press), or from retail premises.