Smoky coal to be banned next winter

March 1998

Wexford is to become a smoke-free zone following a decision by the Minister for the Environment to include the town in a coal ban from next winter onwards.

The ministerial directive will ban the marketing, sale and distribution of bituminous (smoky) coal from next October, and has been made in response to a rise in smoke levels in Wexford in recent years.

Wexford is one of five new urban areas to be included in the ban extension. The others are Limerick City, Arklow, Dundalk, and Drogheda.

The areas were chosen on the basis of an analysis of air quality monitoring results over recent years. While mandatory national and EU air quality standards were not breached, higher than average smoke levels were experienced in the five areas.

Announcing the ban in Wexford, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Dan Wallace, said he was confident that the improvement in air quality witnessed over time in Dublin and Cork would soon also be enjoyed by citizens in the new ‘restricted areas’.

The ban will come into force on October 1 next. The Department of Social Welfare will make an additional payment of £3 a week to eligible recipients to assist lower income households with the increased cost of smokeless solid fuel during the winter heating season which runs from October to March.

Consultations are ongoing with the coal trade to ensure a smooth transition to smokeless fuel products in the Wexford area.