Dáil debates

Wednesday, 10 July 2019

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Air Quality

2:10 pm

Photo of John LahartJohn Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Doyle, for his attendance. The Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, raised issues about the level of nitrogen dioxide in Dublin's air, which hit the newspapers and other media yesterday. We are in danger, if we have not done so already, of breaching European Union limits on air pollution in Dublin. This has particular consequences for the health and well-being of people who live in the capital, particularly those with asthma or other respiratory diseases who are far more susceptible to a decrease in air quality. Of course, people know this anyway and did not need the EPA to come up with a report to tell us the air quality in Dublin is poor. I also wish to address the Government's rather poor response to these findings.

I live in Knocklyon which is on the M50 corridor. Today is a day of still air and if one goes up the Dublin Mountains from April or May onwards on a still day, one can see the entire line and curve of the M50 as it stretches from Wicklow to Fingal and beyond. On a day like today, one would see a heavy brown pallor of smoke approximately 200 feet above the M50. It is there constantly but we tend to only see it on clear days. Nothing has been done to address that pallor, which has been there for the past decade.

We must thank the EPA for undertaking a degree of air monitoring. The M50 is not the only area it mentioned, but it is one which it indicated was approaching, equal to or above the nitrogen oxide levels acceptable. So too are areas around the port tunnel in the city, the quays and Heuston Station where the levels at Dr. Steeven's Hospital appear to be the highest.

We must have some leadership from the Government on this issue, as it is a problem that will not go away. The level of car ownership is increasing. The Government's response is that the pollutants in the city are mainly diesel vehicles, cars, trucks and buses and, therefore, the answer is BusConnects, as the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport said yesterday. The BusConnects project is a year old, yet nothing has happened. By the time it is finished - if it is ever completed; much of it, including the infrastructure, will never see the light of day - it will be 2027 or 2030. We need some indication that the Government will not be reactive on issues such as air quality but proactive.

The answer to chronic emissions is dealing with the vehicles that create them. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that to improve air quality in and around the city, we will have to reduce the number of polluting vehicles. That will take courage, but someone will have to do it because the only way to clean the air is to remove the vehicles that are polluting it. The answer others on this side of the House and I keep getting is the solution is Project 2040, BusConnects and e-cars by 2030. There will be a reckoning for the Government on its performance in dealing with this issue. At the very least, we are calling for air monitoring installations to be set up immediately in all parts of the city and other urban areas in order that we can capture the level of its quality, but that is only part of the story. Dramatic action must be taken. That will require leadership; leadership will require bringing people along, identifying the challenges and immediate, medium and long-term solutions.

2:15 pm

Photo of Andrew DoyleAndrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Any threat to public health is a matter of concern for the Department of Health. The recently published 2019 report of the Environmental Protection Agency on urban environmental Indicators which looks at nitrogen dioxide levels in Dublin does give cause for concern. Nitrogen dioxide, NO2, is an air pollutant associated with urban areas. It is strongly linked with traffic emissions. High levels of NO2can have a detrimental effect on public health, including an increased prevalence of diseases such as asthma. Ireland has some of the highest rates of asthma and cystic fibrosis in the world, as well as high rates of other respiratory conditions. This, in turn, can place an additional burden on health services, with increased numbers of GP visits and hospitalisations. It can also have an impact on the economy in work days lost. While everyone needs good air quality, people with underlying respiratory disease are more vulnerable to health impacts when air quality deteriorates.

The findings in the EPA's report present an early warning of potential exceedances of EU limit values in certain areas of Dublin. The highest levels of NO2occur at locations where traffic levels are heavier. However, we can draw some comfort from the report’s finding that levels of NO2are well within the recommended EU limits in many residential areas in Dublin away from busy roads.

It is clear from the findings in the report that long-term exposure to high levels of NO2is a cause of concern for people’s health. I agree that action needs to be taken. It requires a whole-of-government approach. In that regard, I am confident that implementation of the Government’s recently published climate action plan will have benefits for air quality.

Whereas the Department of Health is tasked with maintaining public health, other Departments and agencies such as the local authorities have significant roles to play. The Department of Communications, Climate Change and Environment has lead responsibility for policy and legislation on air quality. Air quality is a key determinant of health identified by the Healthy Ireland framework for the period 2013 to 2025 and one of 31 indicators included in the Healthy Ireland outcomes framework. The factors that contribute to air quality are complex and inter-related. They will, therefore, will require an inter-sectoral and co-ordinated response to address them. Initiatives to reduce pollutants significantly will require significant inter-sectoral collaboration. The Government’s first national clean air strategy is under development by the Department of Communications, Climate Change and Environment which the Minister anticipates will consider key pollution sources such as transport and its links with increased levels of NO2. The strategy is expected to lead the way on policy change to improve the air that we breathe.

Improved data collection is very important in ensuring we will not breach EU limits for NO2. The EPA, by way of improving the availability of real-time air quality data for the public, is setting up new permanent monitoring stations in Dublin in partnership with Dublin City Council and Trinity College Dublin. They include locations in Dublin identified in the report as black spots with the highest levels of NO2. I understand that, if further monitoring confirms the EU limit values of NO2have been exceeded, the local authorities in Dublin will be legally required to prepare air quality action plans to address the causes and provide solutions in the affected areas.

Photo of John LahartJohn Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for taking this Topical Issue matter. The response states: "We can draw some comfort from the report’s finding that levels of NO2 are well within the recommended EU limits in many residential areas in Dublin away from busy roads." The M50 runs through my constituency, in areas such as Kingswood in Tallaght, Oldbawn, Templeogue, Greenhills, Walkinstown, Knockline and Ballycullen, out into the constituency of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, in areas such as Ballinteer, Dundrum and Marley Park. That there are areas not covered by the report is of little comfort to me.

I am very taken by the fourth paragraph in the response. There is a sentence which runs for ten words, five of which have five syllables: "Initiatives to significantly reduce pollutants will require significant inter-sectoral collaboration." We know that; the fact is that nothing is happening. People on the south side of Dublin know all about air quality, dating back ten years. The answer also states improved data collection is very important. We also know that, as the EPA has told us about it.

The project between Dublin City Council and Trinity College Dublin was mentioned. It will affect the city, but what about South Dublin County Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and Fingal County Council through the areas of which the M50 runs?

The response states, "if further monitoring confirms that the EU limit values of NO2 have been exceeded, the local authorities in Dublin will be legally required to prepare air quality action plans..." Why, therefore, are we waiting? It is inevitable that levels will increase. Car levels are increasing and any efforts at reduced emission or volume of cars on the road has not kicked in at all. Why are we waiting? Will the Minister of State ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment why we should wait for the EPA to produce a further report stating we have breached EU guidelines and recommended limits in certain areas? We should have air monitoring, but that will only identify the problem areas where the Minister and the Government will need to come up with a range of immediate, medium and long-term actions to deal with air quality in Dublin which is disimproving.

Photo of Andrew DoyleAndrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It was in the 1980s when the first initiative was brought forward to ban smoky coal in Dublin because air quality had deteriorated. There were not as many cars then and the improvements in air quality have been eaten into by increased car use. One of the inter-sectoral actions in the climate action plan involves the increased use of electric and hybrid vehicles which will help to immediately reduce emissions, something that will happen if buses were run on electricity or biofuels. I agree with the Deputy.

If local authorities are informed and forewarned of the possibility it would be up to the local authorities as well and not just central government. It is the role of the Government and the EPA as an agency to notify them and put them on notice. If it is the case that it is likely that they will breach then they should have monitoring in place, particularly along the busy route the Deputy mentioned, which also stretches into north Wicklow at the M11 and M50 interchange.

It is something we need to be aware of and cognisant of. Various initiatives that will help drive down the amount of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere will help in the long term. It is never too early to start and we should have an immediate joined-up collaborative approach.