Samples of fuel for sale, labelled as smokeless, in areas covered by the ban were tested by CPL Fuels, which has been pushing for the introduction of a long-delayed nationwide smoky coal ban by the Government. The fuel samples were purchased in areas with a smoky coal ban, including Ennis, Letterkenny, Cork city, Tralee and Sligo. The black market in smoky coal also results in a loss to the exchequer in terms of VAT and carbon taxes, CPL chief executive Tim Minnett said. The ban has been postponed after legal threats from coal companies based outside the State which import smoky coal to Ireland. Fianna Fáil said linking a smoky coal ban to the burning of all solid fuel was “an attempt to dodge their responsibilities”.

Source: The Irish Times December 10, 2019 00:56 UTC