New rules on the sale and burning of solid fuels came into force in Ireland last week. The changes were long-touted and tightened the rules on the sale of solid fuels like turf and coal across the country.
Many people believe that the new laws, which became effective on Halloween, October 31, outlaws the burning of turf with some wondering how they will heat their homes this winter and into the coming years if they cannot source or burn fuel.
While people are encouraged to upgrade their homes to cleaner energies, that is not feasible for many thousands of homeowners across the country, particularly in rural Ireland.
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The new rules do not outlaw the burning of turf and instead focus on the sale of turf and other solid fuels like smoky coal and wet wood. Turf-cutters can no longer advertise these products for sale online or in retail premises but they can still sell them privately if they have the necessary turbary rights.
Turbary rights are the rights to cut and take turf away from an agreed area of land and they are often attached to rural dwellings and would have a property folio number as proof.
Most people buying turf in Ireland do so from locally known turf-cutters with these rights and so will be unaffected. They will also still be able to burn turf in their own homes despite worrying headlines in recent weeks suggesting people could be jailed for excessively burning turf at home.
Environment Minister Eamon Ryan has claimed that there has been huge misinformation around these regulations and insisted that nobody's granny would be arrested for burning turf to heat their homes. They are
Similarly, Minister Jack Chambers said nothing has changed with regard the enforcement of the separate Air Pollution Act, which dates back to the 1980s, and falls on local councils to implement. It states that people excessively burning solid fuels can face a hefty fine of almost €13,000 or imprisonment but it's rarely if ever enforced to that level.
The new solid fuels regulations state: "People with turbary rights and all other customary practices in respect of turf will be unaffected by these draft regulations. They will continue to be able to cut turf for their own use and will retain the ability to gift or sell turf. However, no sale of turf may take place by way of the internet or other media, or from retail premises."
Government has said the focus of the new solid fuels regulation is to to cut down on the sale and therefore the burning of smoky coals, turf and wet wood, fuels they say have been proven as "a major contributor to air pollution in Ireland."
Under the regulations the following new health standards for solid fuels apply since October 31 this year: Coal products and manufactured solid fuels must have a smoke emission rate of less than 10g/hour; Manufactured part biomass products must have a smoke emission rate of less than 5g/hr; Coal products and manufactured solid fuels, including manufactured part biomass products, must have a sulphur content of less than 2% by weight on a dry ash-free basis. Subject to a market assessment, this limit will be reduced to 1% with effect from 1 September 2025; 100% biomass products, wood products and wood logs, supplies in units under 2m³, will be required to have a moisture content of 25% or less (moving to 20% with effect from 1 September 2025). Wood logs sold in larger volumes will be required to come with instructions for the purchaser on how to dry this wood.
They say this "poor air quality is a leading cause of premature deaths," adding that "each year some 1,300 people die as a result of fine particulate matter, primarily associated with domestic solid fuel burning."
"Regulation of solid fuel is a recognised means of addressing this. Research indicates that the introduction of the "smoky coal ban" in Dublin in 1990 has resulted in approximately 350 fewer mortalities per year, reducing cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and respiratory mortality in the general population.
"The main health effects of air pollution include stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and both chronic and acute respiratory diseases, including asthma. These conditions can lead to sickness and ill health, as well as premature mortality."
The net effect of these changes is that the "smoky coal ban", first introduced in Dublin 30 years ago, will now be in place across the country, "resulting in significantly cleaner air for everyone."
Homeowners worried about burning the fuel they already have stored shouldn't be as the ban on burning was removed from the new regulations to allow householders to burn any unapproved fuel they may still hold, that was purchased before the regulations came into effect.
However, when these are used up, you will no longer be able to legally buy further supplies of unapproved fuels. Homeowners can still buy fuels as the only fuels available from now on should be approved by the sellers. If using fuels from outside Ireland, it is the homeowners responsibility to know if they adhere to these new regulations.
Firelighters and kindling are also exempted from these regulations so homeowners are free to use those as normal.
The bottom line is this; the government wants to cut down on the sale of turf and smoky coal to reduce the harm caused to our air. For now, this does not impact on private citizens buying turf or getting it as a gift from locals with the appropriate rights to do so. They are also still entitled to burn it at home legally.
The Government has also answered a number of questions for homeowners worried about the new regulations. You can see an examples of those answers here.
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