A smoky coal ban for the entire country will come into force next year.
It’s currently in place in any urban centre with more than 10,000 people, which includes Carlow and Kilkenny and 40 other towns and cities across Ireland.
It will be extended to all areas, rural and urban, next year and new standards for domestic solid fuels will also be introduced, including restrictions on sales of turf and unseasoned wood
Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan says this is to prevent deaths caused by particulates – the tiny pieces of soot, ash or dust produced by fires.
Environmental journalist, Kilkennyman John Gibbons, believes nobody should be against this, as it could save the lives of 1,300 people who die as a result of poor air quality every year.
