asked the Minister for the Environment if he will make a statement regarding the monitoring arrangements, if any, which are organised by or available to his Department on the question of acid rain in Ireland; if he will make a statement giving the latest information available; and the steps, if any, he is taking in the matter.
Written Answers. - Acid Rain.
18.
Monitoring of acidity in rainfall is carried out at meteorological stations throughout the country. Monitoring of rainfall is also carried out by Dublin Corporation. Three monitoring stations are equipped to measure the longer range effects of air pollution: stations at the Burren and Slieve Bloom, operated by ESB, and the meteorological station at Valentia which participates in the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme. A further two stations are planned, at Kilkenny and Turlough Hill, County Wicklow, to monitor long range air pollution effects, particularly in the trajectory of Moneypoint-Tarbert.
The most recent general assessment of the effects of acid rain in Ireland concluded that while there are some indications of acidification along the eastern seaboard, mainly during easterly airflow conditions, there is little evidence to date of marked environmental damage.
Action to combat acidification depends on effective national and international controls. As regards national measures, the Air Pollution Act, 1987, provides the necessary legislative framework. As regards international measures, Ireland is participating both in the 1979 Geneva Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution and in the European Community environment action programme.