Is it illegal to burn regular coal in Dublin?

aligator_am

I ask the question due to what I can see in the wording of the rules, it seems to be illegal to market or sell within Dublin (and some other large cities) but it doesn't seem to say that it's actually illegal to use the product.

So in that sense, what I'm wondering is if, say, I bought from a supplier in Wicklow but paid on delivery, does that count as purchasing in Dublin even though the order was placed online?

AH may be the wrong place to post this but am getting the fire grate and front in shortly, gonna burn the bejaysus out of all that poxbottle junk mail and heat the house at the same time, regular coal seems to be a fair bit cheaper than the smokeless stuff, just wondering if anyone here has any experience on this front?

sligopark

yes

aligator_am

This is from www.envoiron.ie

A ban on the marketing, sale and distribution of bituminous coal applies in sixteen towns and cities around the country (Dublin from 1990, Cork 1995, Arklow, Drogheda, Dundalk, Limerick and Wexford 1998, Celbridge, Galway, Leixlip, Naas and Waterford 2000, Bray, Kilkenny, Sligo and Tralee 2003).

The origins of the coal bans date from the start of the 1990s when the main air quality problem facing Ireland was the occurrence of "winter smog" (smoke and sulphur dioxide emissions) resulting from widespread use of bituminous coal in major urban areas, notably Dublin, leading to serious health effects for people.

Regulations were made in 1990 to ban the marketing, sale and distribution of bituminous coal in the Dublin area. Smoke and sulphur dioxide (SO2) levels showed considerable improvement once the ban was introduced and it was decided in subsequent years to extend the ban further in order to achieve and preserve good air quality in the selected areas.

In 2002, the Department and the Solid Fuel Trade Group Ltd. signed a negotiated agreement to reduce the sulphur content of all bituminous coal and petcoke and also provided for the extension of the ban on the marketing, sale and distribution of solid fuels. The agreement was the culmination of a consultation process commenced in 2001 on foot of the Public Consultation Paper "Potential National Ban on Bituminous Coal and Petcoke".

In April 2006, the Department and the Solid Fuel Trade Group Ltd. signed a second negotiated agreement concerning further reductions in the sulphur emissions of bituminous coal and petcoke and the maintenance of existing limitations through smokeless zones on the marketing, sale and distribution of solid fuels.

The latest agreement between the Department and the Solid Fuel Trade Group Ltd (doc, 2,363kb)which was signed on 8 October, 2008 and runs until July 2011, locks in place the significant environmental gains achieved by the previous agreements through maintaining ambitious limits on sulphur levels in bituminous coal and petcoke.

So from that, unless I'm reading it wrong, and I'm no legal expert be any stretch, it appears to be OK to actually burn the coal in Dublin, just don't buy it there, in fairness I may be wrong which is why I asked on here

TeddyTedson

We should start burning it again and justify our namesake
"THE BIG SMOKE"

Donny5

aligator_am wrote: »

I ask the question due to what I can see in the wording of the rules, it seems to be illegal to market or sell within Dublin (and some other large cities) but it doesn't seem to say that it's actually illegal to use the product.

So in that sense, what I'm wondering is if, say, I bought from a supplier in Wicklow but paid on delivery, does that count as purchasing in Dublin even though the order was placed online?

AH may be the wrong place to post this but am getting the fire grate and front in shortly, gonna burn the bejaysus out of all that poxbottle junk mail and heat the house at the same time, regular coal seems to be a fair bit cheaper than the smokeless stuff, just wondering if anyone here has any experience on this front?

No

Dravokivich

Has to be "smokeless fuel".

epgc3fyqirnbsx

Rightly so in a city tbh
Especially if you see a place like Edinburough, used to be called "Old Reeky" because it reeked so bad of smoke. Hasn't had coal in 20 years or something and you can still see the black stains on all the old stone buildings

But we should be allowed to burn whaterver the feck we want in the bog

Lauder

The law on smokeless fuels was brought in by Mary Harney, don't forget she did introduce some excellent reforms in her time!

phasers

there's a dude near where I live that sells coal... Is it really illegal? Seems a bit mental.

whatsamsn

TeddyTedson wrote: »

We should start burning it again and justify our namesake
"THE BIG SMOKE"

Not to sound stupid, but is that where the name came from?

and all the coal i see in spar or building providers is smokeless fuel now days?

I remember the smog in Ballyfermot before the ban came in, was scary at times. Odd that I remember it considering I would've only been 6 in 1990.

Dravokivich

Karsini wrote: »

I remember the smog in Ballyfermot before the ban came in, was scary at times. Odd that I remember it considering I would've only been 6 in 1990.

Meself too, from Clondalkin. A lot of kids back then would had Asthma and it was suspected that it was a cause of it.

By a lot... I was like 1 of 5 kids in my estate I knew at the time that didn't have it...

Sea Sharp

It was to do with smog or something.

TeddyTedson

whatsamsn wrote: »

Not to sound stupid, but is that where the name came from?

and all the coal i see in spar or building providers is smokeless fuel now days?

It actually is yea, there was lots of smog above the the county. When they (the bastards) brought in the law that only smokeless fuel could be burned it disappeared overnight.