Population criteria change needed for smoky coal ban in Ross area
THE Cathaoirleach of New Ross Municipal Cllr Michael Whelan brought a motion asking the minister for environment to bring forward legislation to enact the smoky coal ban nationwide or at least to increase low smoke zones to include towns of population over 8,000 that would include New Ross.
‘ This time of year the air quality in New Ross reaches worrying levels of contamination. I believe that bringing a ban on burning smoky coal will improve this to a large scale,’ Cllr Whelan said.
He said fuel suppliers have been aware of the moves to try to designate the whole country a smokeless zone and have already begun preparing to move to manufacturing and providing low smoke fuels and biomass fuels.
‘Stafford’s in New Ross were granted planning permission for a new biomass fuel manufacturing plant in 2016, which started operation in 2017. Suppliers want to play their part in improving air quality in New Ross.’
Wexford County Council began air quality monitoring at Talbot Green, Wexford town, in late 2015. A second air quality monitoring station was installed in Ard Mhichil, New Ross in October 2016 and a third behind the library in Enniscorthy went live in December 2017.
‘A fourth in Gorey went live in September 2018 and we hope to have a fifth and final instrument installed in Bunclody in 2021. This data is being utilised by the EPA as part of their EU obligations in having a national network of air quality monitoring stations. A ban on the burning of smoky coal and other prohibited fuels now applies in all smoky coal ban Low Smoke Zones (LSZs) to complement the ban on the marketing, sale and distribution.’
Enniscorthy and Wexford towns are LSZs. It can be seen from research into New Ross that winter 2020/2021, PM10 and PM2.5 are elevated and exceed the World Health Organisation ( WHO) estimates which show that more than 400,000 premature deaths are attributable to poor air quality in Europe annually. In Ireland, the number of premature deaths attributable to air pollution is estimated at 1,200 people and is mainly due to cardiovascular disease.
Cllr John Fleming seconded the motion, adding ‘where I’m located we have good country air’.
Cllr Michael Sheehan said if a ban is imposed it needs to be district wide so people can’t go outside the town’s limits and buy smoky coal, bringing it home with them to burn.
Cllr Sheehan called for an increase in the fuel allowance to be instated if such a ban is imposed, saying there are economic considerations as smokeless coal is more expensive.
‘ This is a time of year when air quality in New Ross and Enniscorthy is extremely poor; it’s just the topography.’
Wexford County Council Executive Scientist Brendan Cooney said the regulations are under the Air Pollution Act. ‘It’s up to central government who designate the areas. We can try to propose it ourselves but it comes down to central government. It’s up to local authorities to regulate it.’
‘We have had very good but in from all of the fuel suppliers in Wexford town who are all happy to supply only smokeless coal. It came into Enniscorthy and we’ve had no problems with the vast majority of fuel suppliers. There are one or two who would be awkward but we will deal with them. We’ll have to push the government to make the area big enough so people don’t go outside the zone and buy smoky coal and bring it back in again.’
AN allegation that an individual moved cones on the old N25 where ESB works are ongoing, diverting traffic into the path of oncoming vehicles, prompted calls for security on site.
Works on the R723 (from Brandon Hill to the Wexford road after Kent’s Cross) began in January. Cllr Michael Sheehan said: ‘ There was an incident where someone maliciously, at night, rearranged all of the cones so vehicles would go head to head. I absolutely condemn any anti social behaviour of any kind. Someone went up and sorted it out in the middle of a rain storm in no lights.’
Calling for the company to get security on site, he was told by Cllr Anthony Connick that he had witnessed wind blow cones into the road, causing a similar situation in the past neat Kennedy College. ‘We can’t say for definite that it was deliberate.
Certainly there wasn’t enough weight in the boxes to stop them from moving. We should look at having a heavier quality of road cone.’
Cathaoirleach Cllr Michael
Whelan said: ‘It’s a stupidity issue.’ Planning officer Liam Bowe said: ‘It’s a planning issue. I was aware what had occurred and that was a matter for the gardai.’