Laois TD says turf sale ban wrong move at wrong time

Ending the sale of turf would be a wrong move at the wrong time, a Laois TD has claimed. 

Local TD Brian Stanley is calling on the Government not to introduce a ban on the sale of turf for domestic use.

He said: “It makes no sense at this time to introduce a ban while high polluting coal and briquettes are being transported thousands of miles from Eastern Europe. There is also the massive carbon footprint that is generated in hauling these fuels long distances. At the same time the Government are determined to stop people cutting turf a few miles from their own home.”

According to Deputy Stanley, “if this ban goes ahead it will hit midland householders such as Laois/Offaly the hardest and penalise those who are depending on turf to heat their homes and also for cooking.”

“It is the wrong move at the wrong time in the middle of a fuel and cost of living crisis. It will cause real hardship at a time when home heating oil has doubled in price and the price of other fuels have skyrocketed,” he added. 

He accused the Government of ignoring the fact that there are no affordable alternatives available for tens of thousands of house holders in the Midlands.

In these areas that are traditionally depending on turf there is no viable option at this point. Heating systems in many homes are designed for solid fuel, mainly turf, he said. 

“Deep retrofits of houses are running in the price range of €40,000 to €60,000 and while grant aid is available, the householder has to come up with more than half this money. With only two companies signed up to the National Retrofit Scheme, it is clear that we don’t have sufficient numbers of trained workers available at this point to undertake large energy conservation schemes,” insisted Deputy Stanley. 

“If the Government decide to plough ahead with this ban it will undermine the support for climate action. It will also reinforce the view that the Coalition  Government is simply out of touch,” he added.