By Conor Sharkey
STRABANE District Council has given a cast iron guarantee that anyone detected lighting their open fire over Christmas will escape prosecution.
A total of 26 homes were detected with the open fires lit throughout December as people struggled to meet the rising cost of oil.
Most householders will have received letters warning them they could face prosecution if they repeatedly flaunted the laws governing Clean Air in the Strabane area.
On Tuesday night however, Strabane Council's Environmental Health Chief Paddy Cosgrove confirmed that no one would be dragged before the courts.
Springhill Park Community leader Paul Gallagher has been calling for a relaxation of the Clean Air laws since the recent cold snap took hold. He has argued that many residents have resorted to burning old shoes and scrap wood because they can't afford oil.
"I know people who have been burning anything they can just to generate a bit of heat over the recent cold spell. I also know some of them have received letters from the Council threatening them with fines if they continue to light their fires.
"So if that threat has now been lifted, it will help because I know some people, particularly pensioners were worried. At the end of the day, if they had the money to pay fines they would have bought oil with it in the first place. The bottom line is that they have had to light their fires because of the recent big freeze when they couldn't afford oil.
"It's definitely good news and I'm sure it will be welcomed in many local communities."
While welcoming the news, Mr Gallagher added that a long term solution to the fuel poverty issue still needed to be found.
"You can't take your eye off the ball on this issue and we have to keep looking at new initiatives around fuel poverty.
"One thing we are looking at is a subsidy for low income families whereby they might a percentage of their oil bill paid for them. But it's just one thing we are looking at at the minute and hopefully something solid will be in place before next winter," the community leader added.
