Kevin Humphreys (Labour)
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I wish to raise the very important issue of air quality in our cities and towns. The Minister of State may remember that earlier this year, it was reported by the World Health Organization that levels of nitrogen dioxide, which comes from dirty diesel, were exceeded in Dublin and two other locations. Many of our rural towns are still burning dirty coal. By early next year, there is no doubt that we will be in breach of the EU safety levels for nitrogen dioxide. This is already having a serious health and environmental impact on the citizens of Dublin. I do not think it is a case of being found to have exceeded levels because I have spoken to the EPA, which told me that it is a matter of time as it has increased its monitoring within the capital. The EPA expects to have the results of this monitoring early next year and expects that we will be in violation of the limits. Where that has happened previously in other European countries, hundreds of millions of euro in fines have been levied.

We need to put a plan in place. We do not need to get official notification that the air quality in our cities is poor. We know that for a fact. It is within this Government's gift to start protecting our citizens. We should not necessarily be worried about the hundreds of millions of euro in fines this country could face but the fact that the EPA says that 1,180 people die prematurely because of poor air quality in our cities, mainly in Dublin, not to mention the number of families with young children that are affected leading to increased use of medication and illness. We must put a plan in place to improve our air quality. This decline in air quality has been caused by Government policy that encouraged people to drive cars running on dirty diesel. Those decisions were made in 2007 and 2008. We are losing over 1,000 citizens through premature death due to poor air quality.

Is the Government prepared to tell the four local authorities in Dublin to put a plan together to ensure that air quality does not breach EU standards? As I said, it has already breached World Health Organization standards. There is only one answer I need from the Minister of State - "Yes" or "No". If the answer is "No", the likelihood is that another 1,180 citizens will die in the next year. This number is far higher than the number of people who die through road traffic accidents. Must we say to affected families that their parent, brother or sister has to die because we have not been prepared to take preventative action now? We should not wait but do it now.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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The EPA report entitled Air Quality in Ireland 2018, which was published in September, sets out the current status of Ireland's air quality. The report indicated that air quality levels at monitoring sites in Ireland were below the EU legislative limit values in 2018. However, it also showed that the stricter World Health Organization guideline values, which are lower and, therefore, offer greater protection, were exceeded at a number of monitoring sites for fine particulate matter, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide, N02. The report also indicated that EU limit values for N02 are likely to be exceeded in the near future at recently installed traffic monitoring sites in Dublin.The main pollutants of concern are particulate matter from the burning of residential solid fuel and N0₂from transport in urban area.

These findings were consistent with those that emerged from an earlier monitoring report from the EPA, Urban Environmental Indicators - Nitrogen Dioxide Levels in Dublin, which was released in July this year. It also indicated that some areas around certain heavily trafficked roads in the Dublin area may have higher levels of air pollution than previously indicated. These higher levels are due primarily to traffic and some locations are at risk of exceeding the statutory EU limit for the pollutant nitrogen dioxide or N0₂.

N0₂is an air pollutant associated with urban areas and is strongly linked with traffic emissions. Diesel vehicles have historically far higher N0₂emissions than other combustion engines, especially for older vehicles. Exposures to high levels over short periods can give rise to acute health effects, while long-term exposure to elevated concentrations of N0₂may contribute to the development of asthma and potentially increase susceptibility to respiratory infections. People with asthma, as well as children and the elderly, are generally at greater risk from the poor health effects caused by N0₂.

Because of these health effects, N0₂is a controlled pollutant under the clean air for Europe directive, which sets limits on N0₂levels in the ambient air. An annual average limit value of 40 gper cubic metre is in place to protect against the human health effects of long-term exposure and an hourly limit value of 200 gper cubic metre protects against acute exposure.

While previous EPA reports had indicated that N0₂levels were potentially problematic in Ireland and approaching EU limit values in urban areas, the July report in particular presented new evidence that N0₂may exceed the annual EU limit value on certain city centre streets, along the M50 motorway and around the entrance and exit from the Dublin Port tunnel. It should be noted that the report also indicated that levels of N0₂fall with distance from roadways and are well within EU limits away from busy roads and in many residential areas. Around the M50, the highest concentrations are within 10 m of the motorway edge, with levels falling to background levels at a distance of 50 m to 75 m.

The matter of air quality and particularly the potential human health effects of poor air equality are a matter of serious concern to this Government. This is why considerable support is being provided by my Department to roll out the national ambient air quality monitoring programme, under which additional air quality monitoring stations are being installed in Dublin and across the country. This programme is already providing better quality real-time information on localised air quality, which is very useful in the context of the development of air quality policies by my Department and in ensuring that local authorities take appropriate actions to tackle the challenge within their area of responsibility.

For example, preliminary results from one of these new stations, at St John's Road West, near Heuston Station, indicate that Dublin is on course to exceed the annual N0₂limit value by the end of the year. If this happens, local authorities in Dublin and its suburbs will then be legally required to prepare air quality action plans to bring pollution levels back within the limit values in their area of responsibility.

The findings of the report are very concerning and only highlight the need to implement the climate action plan. This plan includes a number of actions which will have a significant impact on reducing emissions and improving air quality. These include the development of a regulatory framework for low-emission zones and providing local authorities with the power to restrict access to certain parts of a city or a town to zero-emission vehicles only. We are also committed to reaching 180,000 electric and hybrid vehicles on our roads by 2025 and nearly 1 million by 2030. Electrifying our private and public transport fleets will have a highly positive impact on air quality, particularly on N0₂levels in our towns and cities.

In the meantime, the Government is, as a priority, establishing an inter-agency group whose membership will include the Departments of Public Expenditure and Reform and Transport, Tourism and Sport, four Dublin local authorities, the EPA, and other stakeholders as necessary to, inter alia, consider a range of options for potential measures to improve air quality and any associated actions and supports required to facilitate their effective uptake to address N0₂and other air pollution and identify measures most suitable to Dublin, as well as in other urban locations in Ireland generally. A first meeting of this group is being arranged for the coming weeks.

This work will complement the work already under way by my Department's development of the whole-of-government clean air strategy, which will provide an overarching policy framework within which clean air policies can be formulated and given effect in a manner consistent with national, EU and international policy considerations and priorities. The clean air strategy will address priority air pollutants in Ireland, including vehicle emissions, in an integrated manner.The Minister intends to launch the strategy at the earliest opportunity. I thank Senator Humphreys for highlighting the issue of air quality and I want to assure him of the Government's commitment to addressing the challenges facing Ireland in this context.

Kevin Humphreys (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his analysis, which I note is the same analysis I received. The EPA told the Minister what it told me, namely, that Dublin is already exceeding the limits. Owing to the increase in monitoring we know that the limits are being exceeded. What was not mentioned in the Minister of State's analysis is that not three metres from the street on which the monitors are to be installed there are homes which are going to exceed the limits. The Minister of State is correct in saying that the local authorities in Dublin suburbs will then be legally required to prepare an air quality action plan. The experts have told this Government that we are going to exceed the limits. Why are we waiting? Why are the four local authorities not being instructed to prepare an air quality action plan to bring pollution levels within their areas of responsibility back within the limit values? That is the law. What we are seeing is an avoidance by Government of its responsibilities in that it is waiting for the EPA to install monitors, review them and then produce the proof that the limits are being exceeded, following which the four local authorities will be instructed to meet their legal requirement and bring forward a plan to reduce those limits.

I am calling on the Government to take its responsibilities seriously and to instruct the four local authorities to get working on the issue now because too many people are dying as a result of poor air quality. There are too many children in my constituency who are not able to go to school because they are suffering from asthma. Their medication is being increased on a regular basis in an effort to deal with this problem. It is not good enough to say that we have to wait until next year to prepare a plan. There is a legal responsibility on the four local authorities to produce a plan. I want the Government to instruct them to bring forward a plan to improve the dreadful air quality in this city.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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The Government is treating this matter seriously. As I said earlier, the Government, as a priority, is establishing an interagency group, whose membership will include the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the four local authorities and other agencies, to consider a range of options and potential measures. It is accepted that we have a problem. In raising the issue today Senator Humphreys has highlighted that it is an issue that needs to be tackled. I want to assure him that measures in the climate action plan will have a significant co-benefit to the work of this action group for air quality. An important investment in improvement of our national air quality monitoring capacity is under way, which is already yielding results that will help inform the most cost-effective and impactful policy measures that we need to take.

The results of the interagency group on urban transport-related air pollution and the forthcoming launch of the clean air strategy will build on this work and will help ensure that we achieve lasting reductions in the health environmental impacts of pollution in our city.