Ryan under fire from his own Government over briquette comments

Fianna Fáil's Barry Cowen slammed the minister for raising the prospect of a possible ban of peat  briquettes during the debate on the proposed ban on the sale of turf

 Minister Eamon Ryan TD. Picture: Sam Boal /Rollingnews.ie

Green Party leader, Eamon Ryan, has once again been criticised by a member of his own Government over comments that peat briquettes could be subject to a sale ban from September.

During a debate on the proposed ban on the sale of turf, Mr Ryan suggested that the manufacturers of peat briquettes will have to show their products will be below stated health standards.

He said the Government will have to follow the science on smoky fuels and it must be straight about that. Mr Ryan said regulations are needed in the autumn for smoky coal in particular.

"We don't want to go through another winter, particularly if it is a cold winter, where people are dying unnecessarily," he said.

Mr Ryan suggested that the manufacturers of peat briquettes will have to show their products will be below stated health standards.

Speaking during a debate on the proposed ban on turf, Mr Ryan said: "I'll be perfectly honest, I'll be looking at the science there to make sure, are we absolutely certain that those peat briquettes, because of the way they are processed, because of the way they burn, are below the 10 micrograms of pollution that is put out into the atmosphere?"

After the debate, a spokeswoman for the Minister moved to clarify that it is not envisaged peat briquettes would be banned from September.

It was said that Bord na Móna has already stated that its briquettes will comply with the 10 grams per hour emissions rate.

All briquette producers, however, are likely to be asked for proof to show that they are in compliance with the new regulations.

Set the standard

Responding on Friday, Fianna Fáil TD and former Agriculture Minister Barry Cowen hit out at Mr Ryan for raising the prospect of a ban when he already knows the Bord na Mona peat briquettes are already below the safety standard threshold, stating,

“There was no reason to raise it, he shouldn’t have gone into the Dáil and raised fears and worries among the workforce and the communities.”

He said Mr Ryan did not mention peat briquettes in a recent heated meeting with Fianna Fáil TDs because as far as he was concerned the matter was closed and the clarity had already been given.

A spokeswoman for Eamon Ryan said the focus is on imported peat briquettes as opposed to domestically produced one.

Mr Cowen said the clarification from Mr Ryan’s office is welcome but said communication from the minister on this issue has been far from ideal and needs to improve.

Fianna Fáil TD Barry Cowen criticised Minister Ryan for raising the prospect of a ban when he already knows the Bord na Mona peat briquettes are already below the safety standard threshold. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Concerns

Moving to assuage lingering concerns about the proposed ban, Mr Ryan insisted there are regulations due for introduction in the autumn which will get the balance right.

The Dáil heard that the majority of turf would be saved and sold by the beginning of September meaning proposed changes would be a matter for 2023.

A consultation process with Europe is underway to examine draft regulations on the sale of solid fuels.

Mr Ryan has been the subject of intense criticism from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil TDs in recent weeks over the proposed turf ban as well as his decision to axe a proposed road project in Limerick.