Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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60. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment whether a study would be conducted on the noise and air pollution present in Innishannon village centre. [44386/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The national air quality monitoring stations are operated, maintained, and monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme. All stations collect air quality data for a range of pollutants to provide information to the public, and for assessment against European legal limit values and World Health Organisation guideline values. The EPA produce an annual report on Air Quality in Ireland which provides an overview of our air quality and key issues that impact upon it.

The European Communities (Environmental Noise) Regulations 2018, as amended, transpose Directive 2002/49/EC on the assessment and management of environmental noise, as amended by Directive (EU) 2015/996. Those Regulations provide for the implementation in Ireland of a common approach within the European Union intended to avoid, prevent or reduce on a prioritised basis the harmful effects, including annoyance, due to exposure to environmental noise. It also designates the noise mapping and action planning bodies with supervisory oversight from the Environmental Protection Agency.

In relation to Strategic Noise Mapping, the legislation requires Transport Infrastructure Ireland and Local Authorities to undertake strategic noise mapping every five years for all major roads carrying in excess of 8,250 annual average daily traffic. Once strategic noise maps have been produced, the results are used for each Local Authority to develop Noise Action Plans as required by the Environmental Noise Regulations.

It is not the role of the Minister to commission a study on air or noise pollution for any specific location. If there are particular concerns regarding the level of air or noise pollution in Innishannon it would be up to the Local Authority to determine if a study should be commissioned.