Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. My question today relates to the Government's clean air strategy. As the Government has told us, air pollution is the silent killer in our environment and our society. We know where air quality is poor that those with an underlying condition are at greater risk of stroke, lung disease, lung cancer, asthma and dementia and that those conditions are exacerbated. We also see a growing body of research that suggests that poor air quality has an impact on cognitive and mental health. While we may not be able to see or feel poor air quality, it has a very real impact on our communities, particularly those in which I am based which are very close to the city centre. These communities are effectively highways to the city centre carrying commuter traffic day in, day out. The Department of Transport acknowledges there are between 1,300 and 1,400 premature deaths in Ireland each year because of poor air quality and air pollution in our towns and cities.

My question today relates to the Government proposals to address poor air quality and our concerns about the growing deterioration in air quality that we are seeing in parts of Dublin and right across the country. There is a laid-back attitude on the part of the Government with regards to air quality. We have the clean air strategy, which was published in April last year, setting out 2040 as its deadline for committing itself to meeting the WHO air quality guidelines. There is an inconsistency here because there will be an updated set of EU guidelines by 2030. On top of that, we have a transport plan for BusConnects, which by and large I very much support because of the emphasis on greater bus and bicycle use, but there are very significant issues in certain areas such as in Phibsborough and in Drumcondra as well where we are seeing car and bus use prioritised over cycle and active travel. The NTA estimates by 2028, when the BusConnects plans for the Phibsborough area come into effect, the annual mean concentration of nitrogen dioxide will remain above existing EU guidelines. That is even before we consider the much more stringent guidelines of the WHO or the ones that are going to come in in 2030.

My appeal to the Minister is to get a clear sense as to what the Government's plan is. A number of weeks ago, a draft strategy was announced regarding transport for Dublin and a conversation was had about ultra-low emissions zones. I have concerns about those proposals and about how those who need to drive to work will get around, particularly our tradesmen and those who simply cannot get to their place of work, or indeed of education, without the use of a car. However, the reality is we have to do something and we have to do it fast. The current air pollution levels are simply not acceptable in our towns and cities. Again, to go back to the Phibsborough example, in 2021 air quality levels there exceeded the national and EU guidelines. They were four times higher than the WHO guidelines for safe levels of nitrogen dioxide in our environment and yet we are seeing a piecemeal and pedestrian approach by Dublin City Council and by the Government.There has been a commitment to diffusion testing throughout 2024 into next year, but we are not clear as to what will be done with that testing. We need to hear clear answers from the Government as to their plans to clean up air quality in our cities.