Ireland on course to miss 2026 clean air targets, warns EPA

Furthermore, despite this improvement, we are now guided by updated advice from the World Health Organization (WHO), which has said there are no safe levels of air pollution.

“Ireland now has a world-class air quality monitoring network, so the evidence base is strong in showing us that air pollution is not just a city phenomenon. There are negative impacts in towns and villages right across the country,” the director of the EPA’s office of radiation protection and environment monitoring, Micheál Lehane, said.

If we want to achieve our ambition of clean air for everyone, everywhere, all year round, then we need to address the emissions from residential heating and invest in transport systems right across the country.

While Ireland met the current EU legal air quality limits, the monitoring results were higher than the more stringent health-based WHO air quality guidelines for several pollutants such as particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide.

The EPA said the main source of these pollutants was the burning of solid fuel in our towns and villages, and traffic in our cities.

It also said nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter can affect our lungs and breathing. In the case of particulate matter — which are tiny particles of solid or liquid that come mainly from the burning of fuels such as coal, peat, and wood — this is the one associated with the most health issues.

“These tiny particles are inhaled deep onto the lungs and cause damage,” the EPA said.

Chronic exposure can also contribute to stroke and heart disease

High levels of such pollutants are associated with cold, still weather from late autumn to the early spring. Generally, incidents of poor air quality can last from one to two days at this time.

In Ireland, we have committed to achieving the WHO guidelines by 2040 — with interim targets for 2026 and 2030. The EPA said despite comparing favourably with many of our European neighbours, our monitoring results for 2023 would exceed the 2026 targets.

Improve air quality

To improve the situation, it recommends using less solid fuel to heat our homes and switching to cleaner fuels, making our homes more energy efficient, and reducing our use of cars for commuting.

Furthermore, local authorities can help people to make choices that will better improve our air quality by supporting alternatives to car travel and acting on solid fuels regulations.

It could also promote active travel through installing and maintaining safe footpaths and cycle lanes, it said.

EPA programme manager Roni Hawe added: “Progress on residential retrofit programmes will help to reduce fine particulate matter pollution, but vigilance is also needed to ensure that only compliant solid fuel — such as low smoke coal and dried wood — is being sold to householders.

“In 2022, Ireland introduced new laws to reduce the pollutant potential of solid fuels. We need to see a strong inspection campaign by local authorities this winter to make sure all retailers only stock and sell approved solid fuel.”