Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 240: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has observed an increase in air pollutants as recorded at the various monitoring stations throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16805/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Air quality assessment is the responsibility of the Environmental Protection Agency and air quality management a matter for local authorities informed by air quality measurement data.

The EPA's Ambient Air Quality in Ireland Report 2004, published in January 2006 (available in the Oireachtas Library), contains details of the monitoring and assessment of national air quality, and incorporates data from all air quality monitoring stations operated by the EPA and local authorities. Air quality was good throughout the country in 2004 and complied with the air quality standards in force for all pollutants.

The EPA has not drawn my attention to any particular issue in regard to air quality on the basis of the most recent data available.