Today, @AsthmaIreland made a public statement in support of Minister @EamonRyan's proposed Solid Fuel Regulations. We called on all parties to support the regulations in a bid to end the 1,300 premature deaths caused annually by fine particle emissions from burning solid fuels.
The new regulations would ban smoky coal and wet wood, and prohibiting the commercial sale of sod turf, will save lives, but provide for continued turf extraction by those with turbary rights and distribution within small communities. @Dept_ECC
Air pollution can cause as well as exacerbate #chronicillness like #COPD, #asthma, heart disease and #stroke, #cancer, #diabetes and #dementia. Irish clinical research also links spikes in air pollution with increased hospital admissions for asthma and heart disease @roinnslainte
In Ireland, 1 in 10 children have asthma. Next week #AsthmaAwarenessWeek we'll be highlighting what it means to be - or have - a child with asthma. The longer these regulations are delayed, the more children across Ireland who will know how it feels to struggle to breathe.
Children breathe faster and their lungs are still developing. PM2.5, tiny particles released by burning solid fuels, breathed deep into the lung, can damage the alveolar wall and impair lung function. Childhood exposure increases risk of developing #asthma and #COPD in later life
Even in utero exposure to air pollution can be detrimental; it can affect brain development and cognitive ability, and can cause premature birth, and subsequently chronic disease, and childhood cancer.
It causes greatest harm to the most vulnerable in our society: to children, the elderly, people living in poverty and social exclusion, in substandard accommodation or experiencing #homelessness, as well as those with chronic diseases, like #asthma.
We are keenly aware that the growing number of people at risk of #FuelPoverty will be affected by the proposed regulations. We also know poorer communities are more at risk from the effects of indoor and outdoor #AirPollution made worse by residential solid fuel emissions.
We are calling for a just transition that sees fuel allowance increased and additional investment to accelerate rollout of the National Retrofitting Programme, with prioritised subsidies for those most at risk of fuel poverty, lower income households and the medically vulnerable.
Fuel poverty, including for those reliant on turf, will only be adequately addressed by tackling the cost-of-living crisis we are facing in Ireland. This will require a comprehensive approach by government to substantially reduce childcare, healthcare, transport and housing costs
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