The proposed ban on the sale and gifting of turf, which was recently suggested by the environment minister, Eamon Ryan, “could not come at a more inappropriate time”, according to the Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary, Jackie Cahill.
The deputy said that a proposal to ban the sale and gifting of turf by the end of this year has been met with outrage in many parts of his constituency in Tipperary in recent days.
Deputy Cahill has written to the Taoiseach and all Fianna Fáil Cabinet ministers voicing his strong opposition to this proposed policy.
“There are many people in rural Ireland who are really feeling the effects of the rising cost of living, particularly the cost of heating their homes and running their cars,” deputy Cahill said.
“I cannot think of a worse time to impose a ban on the sale of turf than right now.
“While the government is doing good work in making historic levels of funding available for the retrofit of homes, with particular focus being aimed at those on lower incomes, there is still much to be done over many years in this regard,” he added.
The Tipperary TD, who is also chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, said banning the selling or gifting of turf while providing no immediate, viable and cost effective alternative is “simply not on”.
“I have written to the Taoiseach and the Fianna Fáil ministers who sit around the Cabinet table and made my opinions very clear on this matter.
“I will continue to work with colleagues in government to be a reasonable voice in the climate change debate, and do my bit to ensure that rural people are not excessively hit by environmentalists’ policies.”
Turf sale ban
The sale and distribution of turf will be banned from September, under proposed regulations by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications.
However, the cutting of turf by those with turbary rights for use in their own home would continue.
In a recent Dáil exchange, Minister Eamon Ryan explained that the National Peatlands Strategy acknowledges the tradition of burning peat in Ireland.
However, he said that it also recognises that the emissions associated with burning turf “contain a range of pollutants”.
“Research undertaken by the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] also demonstrates that the contribution of peat to air pollution levels is significant,” Ryan added.