Ban on "smoky" coal extended to five areas

The burning of "smoky" coal is to be banned from October 1st in Galway, Waterford and three areas of Co Kildare: Celbridge, Leixlip and Naas.

The Minister of State for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Dan Wallace, yesterday announced new regulations extending the ban on the marketing, sale and distribution of bituminous coal in these areas.

It already applies to Dublin city, south Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Dundalk and Drogheda. The Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs is to make an additional payment of £3 per week during the winter heating season to assist lower-income households with the increased cost of smokeless solid fuel.

The new areas were chosen on a precautionary basis following an analysis of air-quality monitoring results. While there was no breach of national or EU air-quality standards in any of the areas, Mr Wallace said the ban should improve urban quality of life and help ensure that new, more stringent, EU air-quality standards were achieved by 2005.