Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of the Environmental Protection Agency report on clean air. The clean air strategy will come out later this year but clean air is not only an issue for Dublin. Smoky coal is still used in towns and cities where it has not been banned. We have been waiting a considerable period of time for that to be addressed. We are aware of the health constraints, especially in respect of older people, and premature deaths due to polluted air. Children in inner city communities are affected in terms of high rates of asthma from polluted air. All these issues relate to dirty diesel, which is a real problem in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. Diesel double decker buses will not come off our streets until 2030. We need short-term as well as long-term action. The clean air strategy is very much a long-term strategy. I am looking for action to be taken now. I am not talking about action being taken only in Dublin. I want to see real-time air quality indicator visual maps in our most polluted cities and towns where the general public can see online the quality of the air within their cities and towns. That, in itself, will put pressure on the Government to move quickly in respect of this issue.

Senator Marshall spoke about tree planting. That has a real effect but there is also an effect in respect of hedges. In Birmingham, it has been proved that where hedges are planted close to roads it breaks up the pollutant at an early stage and stops the effects up to 30 m away.

I ask the Leader to arrange for a constructive debate on this issue early in the autumn to discuss new ideas and how we can clear the air in our towns and cities by banning smoky coal and start removing diesel cars, buses and lorries in areas with a high concentration of older people and young children in particular. I know the Leader will try to facilitate that request as soon as he can in the autumn.