Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

It is not an exaggeration to say that Phibsboro junction in my constituency is literally riddled with air pollution. Locals say the smell and the heaviness of the air are inescapable as are the negative effects on one's body. Some in the area, including businesses, feel they are forced to keep their windows closed as what is allowed in when they open them is the furthest thing from clean. In a world where we have rightly become sensitive to the underlying health conditions of the immunocompromised, we cannot stand for our residential areas violating EU air quality limits, which clearly outline a danger to our well-being.

Although anybody caught in traffic at Phibsboro junction for just minutes could explain the dearth of clean air at Doyle's Corner, we now have statistics painting a dire picture of this reality. Under the EU air quality directive, countries must limit air pollution to below 40 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per cubic metre an hour on average over the course of a year, among other thresholds. When these levels were surpassed in Kilmainham in 2019, the local authority drew up an air quality plan that outlined traffic management, pedestrianisation, cycling projects and the discouragement of car ownership in that area. Phibsboro junction has now exceeded the EU air quality directive limits, at times reaching an monumental and unacceptable 60 micrograms per cubic metre. Plans need to be urgently drawn up to correct this before substantial damage is done to residents' health and the local environment. Many residents are already highlighting respiratory issues in the area. Horrifyingly, the World Health Organization states this number should not even exceed ten micrograms.

Sadly, it is not just this one crossroads in my constituency that suffers from unacceptable air quality. Amiens Street, much of the quays and some other areas of East Wall suffer the same fate, while residents in areas such as Stoneybatter, Drumcondra and Cabra wonder when they will be next. With so many areas in Dublin experiencing this phenomenon, we have reached a point of urgency that demands the attention of the Dáil and not just local authorities.

Will the Minister of State make a commitment to produce a strategy for improving air quality in inner-city Dublin? I also call on the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, to install monitoring stations in the worst-affected areas such as Phibsboro so that the rehabilitation of the local air quality can be monitored while attempts to solve this issue are actioned. I believe there are monitoring stations in the Phoenix Park, which seems somewhat counterproductive.

Climate change is often viewed only in a macro level with its threat to our existence as a species. Important as it is to realise the truth of this terrifying fact, we must do all we can to observe this threat at a local level and tackle it at its source.

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