WHILE AIR QUALITY in Ireland is generally good, there are concerning localised issues that are impacting negatively on the air we breathe, a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said. 

The EPA has today launched its annual air quality report, Air Quality in Ireland 2021. 

The report shows that while Ireland met EU legal air quality limits last year, it did not meet the health-based World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines for a number of pollutants including nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, particulate matter and ozone due to the burning of solid fuel in Ireland’s towns and villages and traffic in cities. 

• Our colleagues at Noteworthy want to examine how the State plans to tackle air pollution from wood fuel burning. Support this project here.

The EPA said poor air quality has a negative impact on people’s health and that there are an estimated 1,300 premature deaths in Ireland per year due to particulate matter in the air. 

Air monitoring results from EPA stations across Ireland in 2021 show that fine particulate matter, mainly from burning solid fuel in our homes, and nitrogen dioxide, mainly from road traffic, remain the main threats to good air quality, 

In the report, the EPA outlined that Ireland and Europe should move towards achieving the health-based WHO air quality guidelines. 

It outlined that local authorities must provide more resources to increase air enforcement activities. 

The EPA also said national investment in clean public transport is needed across the country. 

“Air quality in Ireland is generally good, however, there are localised issues that are impacting negatively on air quality and our health,” EPA programme manager Pat Byrne said. 

“In our towns and villages, monitoring identifies high levels of particulate matter associated with burning solid fuels and in our larger cities, high levels of nitrogen is associated with road traffic,” Byrne said. 

“There are options and solutions to help improve the air we breathe. Changes we make and how we heat our homes and finding alternative ways to travel can immediately impact our local air quality.” 

The EPA’s Air Quality in Ireland 2021 report is now available on the EPA website.