A local TD has hit out at reports that a piece of legislation that would majorly clamp down on the sale and supply of turf.
According to the Irish Independent, Councils would have search-and-seize powers under proposed new air pollution laws.
These measures are contained in a draft Air Pollution (Amendment) Bill currently being finalised.
According to the report, Councils ‘could stop and detain vehicles, confiscate and destroy unapproved fuels and, in some circumstances, raid private dwellings’.
Tighter controls on imported fuels would also be introduced, stiffer penalties would apply and on-the-spot fines would be imposed.
This report has deeply angered local TD Carol Nolan who has branded it ‘turf terrorists’.
She said: “At times you simply do not know whether to laugh or cry at the levels of arrogant overreach routinely indulged in by this Government.
“The idea that people transporting turf in their own cars or tractor will be pulled over and searched as if they were part of some rural cartel is simply ludicrous.
“I am seeking urgent clarity on this draft legislation because no Government is going to get away with causally criminalising ordinary decent turf burners on my watch.”
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