Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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I want to raise a major unaddressed public health failure. It is a local issue that arose not in my constituency but in Dún Laoghaire, but it has quite wide national implications in the context of climate change and the likelihood of an increased number of gorse fires. Effectively over a two-week period in August, repeated fires in Ticknick Park affected thousands of residents in Cherrywood but the response by the State agencies was completely inadequate. As a result, residents have had to get themselves organised. They have done an incredible amount of research, which I am happy to share with the Minister of State, and are demanding action. They have been working with our local councillor, Dave O'Keeffe. I have spoken to them and they have provided me with a document containing a detailed account of more than 20 interconnected major fire incidents, comprising over 135 recorded events and more than 150 fire-fighting operations within a two-week period in August. The fires repeatedly reignited within hours of being declared disposed but they were downplayed. The health hazard was downplayed, they were prematurely closed as incidents and their priority was downgraded. No public health warnings issued and no sustained escalation occurred. Residents were left continuously exposed until the weather conditions shifted.

I submitted a parliamentary question on this and received an answer from the Minister and the HSE. Basically what we are being told is that nothing serious happened here in terms of a health issue. However, there is a significant issue here because this is not just regular smoke. There are extra particles in the context of gorse fires. The air monitoring stations that State agencies are relying on to say that everything is fine are quite a distance from where the fires took place and are quite far away from the affected homes. The residents themselves did a study of indoor air quality. They assessed the air inside people's homes and the results are striking. I have all of the data here and can send it on to the Department. The data confirms continuous toxic exposure inside homes for two weeks. These toxic levels were recorded inside homes that are just 10 m away from Cherrywood primary school. The school was obviously closed in August but if it had been open, children would have spent hours directly downwind of the smoke. The levels of PM2.5 of organic carbon, OC, were up to nine times the WHO limits. There was no effective protection or practical health guidance. Instead, there was deference to outdated protocols and distant air monitoring stations. Children, in particular, were left unprotected, as were vulnerable residents.

What the residents are asking for is quite simple. They want formal recognition that gorse wildfire smoke is a direct public health hazard and updated health guidance and fire response protocols that reflect modern science and international best practice. They also want to see incident-specific monitoring located where fires impact. In other words, they want monitoring to happen where the fires are actually taking place. Residents want access to practical protection. Families were faced with spending hundreds of euro on HEPA filters, masks and so on. They want State agencies to prioritise schools and national groups in the provision of such protection and a clear national framework ensuring that the HSE, EPA, local authorities and fire services act together so that no community is left unprotected again.

This is a serious issue. The research the residents have done is very impressive and proves very clearly that this is a significant issue that is going to reoccur and that we need a change of policy to deal with it, not least to be in line with our EU safe-level obligations.

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which I am dealing with on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. The air we breathe is fundamental to our health, environment and the overall well-being of our communities. Nationally, from an ambient air-quality point of view, the main air pollutants of concern are fine particulate matter from solid fuel combustion and nitrogen dioxide from transport. However, wildfires or localised fire incidents, though infrequent, can impact air quality. Under the Air Pollution Act 1987, where it appears to a local authority that urgent measures are necessary to prevent or limit air pollution affecting any part of its functional area or any adjoining area, the local authority may take steps to carry out such operations or give such assistance as it considers necessary to prevent or limit such pollution or to remedy the effects of same.

Local authorities are independent in the exercise of their statutory functions under the Air Pollution Act 1987. In addition, the EPA has advised that it works closely with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown local authority regarding such incidents and can assist through the provision of support and advice on air pollution.

In terms of dealing with fires, including gorse fires, the provision of fire services in a local authority’s functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the fire services Acts 1981 and 2003.

The national directorate for fire and emergency management, NDFEM, supports the fire authorities through setting general policy, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for equipment and priority infrastructure projects. The NDFEM developed a policy document, Keeping Communities Safe, which sets out a system of national processes and standards for fire service delivery in Ireland based on a risk management approach. Keeping Communities Safe is the outcome of a wide-ranging review of fire service activities and it is supported by a series of documents on issues such as fire services training and safety management systems for fire services. A further set of documents, titled "good practice notes", describes methods for the fire service to deal with a range of solutions in order to achieve consistent good practice nationally.

When it comes to the monitoring ambient air quality, the national competent authority for the monitoring and assessment of ambient air quality is the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA. The EPA works closely with local authorities to site, install, operate and maintain monitoring stations at locations around the country. Health data is provided to the public in the form of the air quality index for health, which translates both monitored and modelled air quality to health advice.

The European Environment Agency’s report, Europe's Environment 2025, noted in its country profile that Ireland’s air quality is among Europe’s best. It also noted that Ireland meets current EU air quality standards. Significant progress in improving Ireland’s air quality was also noted this year in the annual clean air strategy progress report in July 2025, including that Ireland has reduced ammonia emissions on foot of improvements in agricultural practices and reduced sulphur dioxide emissions due to a greater use of renewables in energy generation and increased retrofitting and heat pump installation. However, as acknowledged in Ireland’s clean air strategy, there is no safe level of air pollution and we must continue to ensure that we put the appropriate measures in place to protect our air quality.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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I thank the Minister of State for his answer. He might acknowledge himself that there is not much in his response relating to the incidents residents have experienced and the petition they have launched. By the way, they have sent all the data to the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill.

I will outline some of the key findings from the survey conducted by residents, which give a picture of the problem residents in Cherrywood are facing, but it can also be a problem for people all across the country or anywhere where gorse fires can impact on air quality. A total of 60 households responded to the survey, of which 100% reported smoke entering indoors despite them keeping their windows shut, with exposure lasting ten to 14 consecutive days for most of the households. A total of 80% of households reported persistent coughing or sore throat; 70% reported headaches or migraines; 65% reported sleep disruption from night-time smoke; 40% reported stress and anxiety about health and safety; and 25% reported nausea, fatigue or eye irritation. Children were affected in at least 60% of households.

I will outline some of the personal stories of residents. One resident said that, "Even with windows sealed, my toddler woke up coughing and needed a doctor". Another remarked that, "We spent €400 on a purifier but our baby still woke coughing. The heat made it unbearable", while another resident described, "I woke at night thinking the house was on fire. The smoke inside was so strong". One other resident said, "Our newborn was exposed during her first three weeks of life. This is unacceptable in a modern country".

The World Health Organization, the CDC in the US and the European Environment Agency treat wildfire smoke as a major public health hazard. The EU directive requires member states to provide representative protective air quality information to the public but here we have an actual incident over a period of two weeks in Cherrywood where families are enduring exposure without meaningful monitoring, warnings or health advice. We need to do better.

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Murphy for his input this morning on this important issue. Although ambient air quality in Ireland is recognised as being among the best in Europe, there is no safe level of air pollution. There are policies and legislation in place to ensure that we continue to strive to minimise the impact of air pollution on our citizens and the environment.

Local authorities are independent statutory bodies which are key in tackling gorse fires and air pollution more generally. They are supported by policy and legislation to carry out the necessary actions within their functional areas. We need to continue to support our local authorities in their work, both in dealing with localised incidents and also more generally supporting them to implement relevant measures in the clean air strategy to protect our air quality in Ireland.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank the local authority and fire brigade personnel on the ground who are at the coalface dealing with such fires. As the Deputy will be aware, a lot of these fires happen all over the country, not just in his local area. It is an issue that affects the air we breathe. I compliment the fire brigade. In all fairness, sometimes fire brigade personnel are out for 24 hours trying to quench these gorse fires. Some of these fires are started deliberately, although I do not know why, while others are started by nature, but they have a huge impact on the air we breathe, particularly if they are near a town or village. The first thing people must try to do is close all the windows. Smoke eventually gets in, however.

I will bring this matter to the attention of both the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, and the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. Deputy Murphy said that the petition has been submitted to the Department for Health. I will ensure the Minister sees and reads it. I will ask her to come back directly to the Deputy on this matter. I thank him for raising the issue.