Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking my question. I am going to start with something that has become a common refrain in this Chamber by saying I am disappointed the senior Minister was not present to take the question. While I understand the Minister of State is very competent, this particular issue lies outside her competence in terms of her ministerial duties.

We must face up to the fact that although we might not have an exceedance of the EU limit, this is not the limit we are aspiring to. We are aspiring to the WHO limit, which is lower and would give better health outcomes, including decreasing excess mortality and the incidence of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, that have such life-limiting impacts on people across the country.

We should pay attention to who exactly tends to suffer from these conditions. Very often, it is the older housewife who sat at the fireside. Much of this particulate matter actually stays in the home, so those who spend the most time in the home are most likely to be exposed to it. It is also kids at the school gates. This is where we really see a concentration of nitrogen dioxide gases. Kids are at the right wrong height in terms of getting out of the car and being exposed to the exhaust fumes as they make their way to and from school. It is very serious that 1,400 people are losing their lives and that we are having this increase in asthma, COPD and other respiratory diseases. This concentration of gases also particularly impacts some of the most vulnerable people in our society, so we should pay even more attention to it.

I would like to see an awareness-raising campaign concerning the dangers of idling, especially at school gates. I do not mean parents standing around having a chat about the teachers inside, but the idling of engines and the impact this has on air quality where some of our most vulnerable young people are going to and from their places of work. I would like to see the clean air communications strategy group expedited. This can be part of combating this situation, and it is one of the key measures promised. I would also like to see some sort of progress being made towards the development of the clean air Act, which is again mentioned in these key measures. There is much work yet to do in this area and it is very important because it impacts people's lives.

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