Smoky coal ban needed

MORE needs to be done to prevent smoky fuels from harming the environment and choking the air in our towns.

This is the view of Cllr Malcolm Byrne who brought a motion to this effect, calling on Wexford County Council to write to Minister Denis Naughton to introduce a ban in smoky fuels within six months.

Cllr Byrne said there was an announcement in 2015 by the then Minister Alan Kelly, of the government’s intention to proceed with a nationwide ban, but this has yet to happen.

‘ The air quality in Enniscorthy and other parts of the county is amongst the worst in the country. This is something we need to move on,’ Cllr Byrne said.

Cllr Davy Hynes said he has noticed a significant deterioration in the air quality in Wexford town where smoky coal is banned.

Cllr Hynes said: ‘ There is a major loophole as people can go out of town a bit and buy the coal and bring it back in. This is having a major effect on older people’s health.’

Chairman Cllr Paddy Kavanagh said due to its location ‘in a hollow’ Enniscorthy has a particular problem with its air quality airsing from the use of smoky fuels.

Cllr Robbie Ireton said fuel from airplanes is a major problem.

‘Before the coal is even lit we have the problem of aviation fuel falling from the sky,’ he said.

Cllr Byrne urged the council to be proactive on the matter.

‘ This keeps getting long-fingered,’ he said.

The motion was passed. A motion to have the government withdraw the current Sea Fisheries Amendement Bill and to open consultation with the Irish fishing industry to review the bill’s implications, along with the future implications of Brexit, was unanimously supported at the meeting.

Cllr Jim Moore said: ‘Around our coast the fishing interests of Wexford and Waterford have been put at risk.’

He said the major difficulty is foreign boats mining our natural resources by fishing in our waters, including vessels from Scotland.

‘We are allowing this to happen and the implications are quite severe. There is a suggestion that this will revert to a pre-European Union situation,’ he said.