Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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1027. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of air quality monitoring sites; their locations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21335/15]

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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1028. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of air quality monitoring sites that have the capability of detecting Particulate Matter 2.5 and Particulate Matter 10; their locations; the number doing so at present; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21336/15]

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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1029. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the reason not all air quality monitoring sites are detecting Particulate Matter 2.5 and Particulate Matter 10; if he will inform Dáil Éireann if this was always the case; if not, the reason this policy change came about; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21337/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1027, to 1029, inclusive, together.

To protect our environment, EU Directives set out air quality standards for a wide variety of pollutants. The current standards are contained in the 2008 Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) Directive (Directive 2008/50/EC) and the Fourth Daughter Directive (Directive 2004/107/EC of 15 December 2004 relating to arsenic, cadmium, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air). These Directives also include rules on how Member States should monitor, assess and manage ambient air quality.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is tasked with co-ordinating and managing this monitoring programme. Ireland is divided into four zones for the monitoring and assessment of ambient air quality, with a nationwide network of 31 monitoring stations, measuring levels of air pollutants in the zones and delivering this information to the public in near real-time at

The zones in place in Ireland in 2015 are the Dublin conurbation (Zone A), the Cork conurbation (Zone B), 23 large towns with a population >15,000 (Zone C) and the remaining area of Ireland (Zone D). A table listing the 31 monitoring sites and those which measure PM10 and PM2.5 is included below.

The numbers and locations of the monitoring equipment for each pollutant listed below, which includes particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), are determined by the requirements of the Directives for ambient air monitoring in each zone: sulphur dioxide; nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen; carbon monoxide; ozone; particulate matter – PM10 and PM2.5; benzene and volatile organic compounds (VOCs); heavy metals – lead, arsenic, cadmium, nickel and mercury; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH); elemental carbon/organic carbon (EC/OC) as part of PM2.5 speciation; and anions and cations as part of PM2.5 speciation.

Particulate matter is harmful to health and it is accepted among health officials that exposure to PM10 and PM2.5 should be reduced. In cities, traffic emissions are the main source of particulate matter while in smaller towns emissions from domestic solid fuel combustion dominate. The air quality in cities benefits from the ban on smoky coal, as well as the increased use of gas. The monitoring of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) is carried out at a representative number of monitoring locations in each of the four zones and meets the requirements of the CAFE Directive - it is not necessary to monitor for particulates at all 31 stations.

In April 2013, the EPA launched Ireland’s new Air Quality Index for Health (AQIH). This web-based index, developed in conjunction with the Health Service Executive, Met Éireann and my Department, displays the current air quality across Ireland, by means of a coloured scale of 1 – 10, divided into four bands (good, fair, poor and very poor), with health advice provided for each band. The AQIH is calculated hourly and is represented on a colour- coded map of Ireland, which the public can view at and can easily assess information about current air quality in their area. The pollutants included in the index are: ozone; nitrogen dioxide; sulphur dioxide; PM10; and PM2.5. To coincide with the launch of the Air Quality Index for Health, the EPA also launched a Twitter channel, @EPAAirQuality, through which the public can receive tweets on the status of air quality in their region every day.

The EPA is currently preparing a draft national ambient air monitoring programme under Section 65 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (as amended), which will provide the basis and options for the continued development and expansion of the national ambient air monitoring network. The development of the national ambient air monitoring programme will include a review of the adequacy of the current network for both determining compliance with European and national standards for air quality and for the provision of information to the public about local air quality.