Green Minister queries Varadkar intervention on turf ban

Minister of State Ossian Smyth has said he was surprised and alarmed when he heard comments by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar that proposals on turf cutting could be paused.

The issue had been ongoing for some years, the Green Party TD told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show.

“Paused was not the right word” as the agreement was that commercial “stripping” of bogs would end but that individual turbary rights would continue, Mr Smyth said.

The clear intention was that the commercial distribution of turf for profit would stop but that small scale sale between neighbours would not be impacted, he added.

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People would continue to have the right to cut their own turf. It was a cultural tradition and was important for some people to keep warm. Small scale cutting and buying was not a problem, said Mr Smyth.

Climate change was a secondary aspect, he pointed out. In this case it was a health issue as 1,300 people die from inhaling fumes from solid fuel.

Earlier, Climate Council member Professor Cara Augustenborg said any plan to pause a ban on turf cutting would be “crazy”.

Prof Augustenborg told Newstalk Breakfast that Mr Varadkar’s position on the turf ban was “very, very strange” since he was a medical doctor and would be aware that such a policy would save lives.

Air quality in rural Ireland would benefit hugely from such a ban, she said. “I actually think it’s crazy that the Government has been working on this issue for over 30 years.

“Successive Governments including the last Fine Gael Government were all part of the smoky coal ban that was brought into Dublin by Mary Harney in 1990 and has been credited with saving 350 lives a year in Dublin.

“So that’s over 11,000 people who have lived longer in Dublin in the past 32 years than would have if we’d continued to allow the burning of smoky coal and yet this ban does not extend to people living in smaller villages in Ireland.”

She said: “I find it very, very strange now that suddenly the Tánaiste – a medical doctor I might add – who knows the health impacts of these kinds of fuels would delay this issue for even one more day and not let other people in Ireland outside Dublin avail of this and protect their health.”

Cost of living

Sinn Féin has criticised the planned ban on turf sales. Its agriculture spokesman Matt Carthy said the move was “another sign that they [the Government] are out of touch with rural communities and the cost of living crisis that is hitting people.”

He said: “Turf has been one of the only forms of heating not to see prices spiral in recent months. The Government’s plan punishes communities who rely on turf, instead of introducing measures to support communities in transitioning away from this form of heating in a way that is fair and sustainable.”

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the ban on turf sales would leave some homes without heating.

When asked about the performance of Sinn Féin in the most recent Irish Times/Ipsos poll, Ms McDonald said that the party had managed to grow its base since the last general election.

The party “won’t make the same mistake” of not fielding enough candidates in the next election, she added.