Government leaders contradict each other over plan to ban sale of turf

It comes after Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told his party the measure had been put on hold

Turf drying out on the Bog of Allen in County Kildare. The Green Party leader has said there has been "no agreement" made to pause a ban on the sale of turf. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Government are to decide whether to ban the sale of turf “after Easter” according to Paschal Donohoe, after government leaders clashed on the move.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar last night told his party the plan to ban the sale of turf in September is being paused, contradicting Green Party leader and Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan who plans to push ahead with the ban.

Mr Varadkar told a private meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party last night that a ban on selling turf, due to come into force in September, had been paused pending a proper examination of the issue.

A spokesperson for the Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said he has "agreed to engage on how the regulations would be implemented but there was no agreement on a pause".

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said there were “different interpretations” in government. “There can be at times different views and different interpretations,” he said.

“This is a matter that the Government will consider after Easter when we have detailed proposals.

“Minister Ryan will of course want to make a change in relation to this and what they will do is bring forward a proposal to government and then three parties will engage on the issue."

Mr Donohoe said it is "very early to prejudge what the government will do and it's important to allow for the government to consider a detailed proposal and we will deal with it".

“We absolutely within Fine Gael fully appreciate the imperative to make our air cleaner. It is also the case that this is a matter of concern to many within my party for economic reasons and also recognising the importance of turf from a cultural point of view, and what that can mean for many families and businesses that we will engage within government on this matter and work our way through this.” 

Eamon Ryan said "no agreement" made to pause a ban on the sale of turf after Leo Varadkar told his party the measure had been put on hold. Picture: Julien Behal Photography

It is understood that at last night's party meeting, Mr Varadkar said that turf was equivalent to wine for the French or pasta for Italians.

A number of party members, including senators Sean Kyne, Aisling Dolan and Tim Lombard along with TDs Brendan Griffin and Joe Carey welcomed the review.

The plans to ban the retail sale of turf had already caused uproar among rural members of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil

Cork Senator Tim Lombard described the ban as "Dublin-centric politics taking away one of the last bastions of rural Ireland."

"This is a red line issue for us. We've soaked up the carbon tax and a lot of other measures, but for us, in rural Ireland, we are not moving on this one."

Mr Ryan had robustly defended the plan just hours before Mr Varadkar's announcement, arguing that the pollution from burning turf and other fossil fuels is "killing people".

Cost of living

Meanwhile, Mr Donohoe said that although the cost of home heating oil is rising, the Government cannot cut VAT on the fuel, like they have for gas and electric.

“We have laws across the European Union that govern the ways in which you can change the VAT and how many different rates of VAT each country can have.

“Overall, it's really in the interests of a small exporting country like Ireland within the European Union, that we have clear laws in relation to VAT because in turn, it helps us sell our goods and services in other countries.” 

The Minister added that the government did consider pausing the rise in carbon tax.

“We did always consider what is the right thing to do at each point in time but overall we did decide as a government that going ahead with two changes,” he said.

“The overwhelming advice that we get from the scientific and economic community is that changes in the price of carbon is a vital part of how we can respond back to the climate crisis. Only a week ago we were reminded of how little time we have to save our planet.

“I absolutely accept given the challenges that so many are facing, that making the case about the necessity to change about a huge crisis that's happening slowly, when we're facing such intense challenges today is difficult and that therefore is one of the reasons why the government brought forward the additional package yesterday. 

"Because the measures we brought forward more than compensates and assess the changes in the cost of living that will happen due to carbon tax changes.”