'You will never be cold if you have a fireplace' - Laois councillors demand chimneys

Laois councillors are calling for new houses to be allowed to include chimneys and burn solid fuel.

Given the rising cost of electricity and the oil and gas crises, homeowners must be allowed to light a fire to keep warm cheaply, says Cllr Willie Aird.

His motion tabled to the September meeting of Laois County Council, a day before the Government's budget, got the backing of colleagues.

Cllr Aird proposed that the council request Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan to allow chimneys in all new homes.

Many new houses are built without chimneys to reach the high BER energy ratings demanded by planning rules. He wants an option for hard pressed Laois people.

"We do talk about all this turf cutting and burning wood to stop but I don't believe it will happen. We are all buying smokeless coal and timber. Gas has gone through the roof, what is going to happen? You will never be cold if you have a fireplace. All you have to do is buy a bag of turf or wood and you're warm for the night. If you don't have a gas card, who do you turn to? The Vincent de Paul and other than that you're cold for the night

"I think it's all completely wrong. years ago people would be hungry but they always had a fire. I notice lights turned off now in houses at night. I can see it. Itt's like we are going back to the 50s.

I know people out there who will be in dire straits this winter. They are talking about more hikes in electricity and gas. If they had another form of heating at least they could switch," he said.

Cllr PJ Kelly, who sells fuel, supported his motion.

"Some older people do their cooking on solid fuel. They are actually turning off applicances now to save," he said.

Cllr Barry Walsh who does BER energy rating surveys on houses, partly disagreed.

"Nowhere is it written that you can't have a fireplace. But there are energy calculators and if you do, you have to put in 20 solar panels. I have one just for effect, I rarely light it," he said.

He added that houses should be insulated properly to save energy, and grants for that have risen to 50%.

Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley said she has no chimney in her modern warm house but still blasted the Minister for the Environment, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan for his policies.

"He thinks we all live in Dublin and we can go on our trendy bicycles to the LUAS. This area is classified as being dependent on solid fuel. The transition period from peat was meant to take place over ten years and it happened in two. 

WATCH: 'We all got a little bit' - Laois public react to Budget 2023

New fence agreed for public green at Portlaoise leisure centre

"I grew up in O'Moore Place and we had a Stanley cooker that had heating, hot water and the kettle on all the time with a little bucket of turf. It's €50,000 to retrofit your house. We will end up with estates where half the houses will be deep retrofitted and the others won't be because they are privately owned and those people will never have the money to bring them up to a B rating. A bale of briquettes is nearly €7. Where are you going removing all of that with no alternative?" she said. 

Cllr Seamus McDonald said that solid fuel is the cheapest way to heat a house, while Cllr Padraig Fleming praised stoves.

"You can get a stove that fits into a chimney and if you put timber in and the controls are right, it will still be burning that evening and the house warm. It's essential, it's a cheap fuel," he said.

Cllr Ollie Clooney complained that there is no plan B after turf burning is "done away with".

"We have moved too fast. All the timber in forests uncut and people are cold in bed. Beech trees are lying idle. Shame on them they don't realise about the working man," he said.