Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that there will be no ban on the sharing of turf “for those with rights to harvest sod”.
His comments in the Dáil yesterday during a debate on the issue are in line with comments from a spokesperson for Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan, who said that there would be no ban of the sharing or gifting of turf under planned regulations on its sale.
However, the Taoiseach has appeared to further clarify that the right to gift turf will be for those who have the right to cut it.
In a lively debate with Sinn Féin leader and Dublin Central TD Mary Lou McDonald, he also argued that the coal industry is “the big villain of the piece here” when it comes to air pollution and air quality.
The Taoiseach noted that a minority of people in the country now use turf to fulfill their energy needs.
However, he also said: “It is important what we protect the rights of people in rural Ireland, in terms of turbary rights; people utilising turf in their own bogs; and traditional practices in turf sharing.”
“They’re not being banned, and there will be no restriction on people who own their own bog to use turf in their domestic fire or people who share turf with their neighbours,” the Taoiseach told the Dáil.
“No ban on the gifting of peat will be introduced for those with rights to harvest sod.”
He argued: “The big industry here is the coal industry. That’s the big villain of the piece here.”
He went on to highlight the smoky coal ban in the country’s largest urban areas, which he argued had a major positive public health impact.
“Back in the early 1990s, former minister Mary Harney introduced a ban on smoky coal, and it was transformative in terms of air quality in this city and other cities around the country,” he said.
“It’s about time that people played this fair and down the middle and had a balanced debate, because unfortunately, there are parts around the country, which are above WHO [World Health Organisation] levels, in terms of poor air quality, and that’s not acceptable,” the Taoiseach argued.