Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 7 Nov 2000

Vol. 525 No. 2

Written Answers. - Sulphur Dioxide Emission.

Jimmy Deenihan

Question:

660 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the steps he will take to reduce the level of sulphur dioxide emissions as confirmed in the recent Environmental Protection Agency report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23967/00]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Mr. D. Wallace):

In 1998 Ireland ratified the UNECE, Oslo, Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution, CLRTAP, on Further Reductions of Sulphur Emissions. This requires Ireland to limit sulphur dioxide, SO2, emissions to 30% below 1980 levels by the year 2000. While post-1998 data are not yet available, I am satisfied Ireland is on target to achieve its commitment due, inter alia, to a voluntary agreement by the ESB to cap emissions by 2000.

In December 1999 Ireland signed the UNECE, Gothenburg, Protocol to the 1979 CLRTAP to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication, and Ground Level Ozone. This will involve further emissions reductions, including a reduction of SO2 emissions by 76% below 1990 levels by 2010. A draft EU directive sets the same national SO2 ceiling for Ireland.

The necessary reductions will be achieved by the continuation and intensification of existing measures, including,inter alia, the extension of the EPA's integrated pollution control licensing system to existing electricity generating stations; the implementation of a draft EU directive to set lower emission limits from large combustion plants; the ban on bituminous coal now operating in 12 major urban areas; and reductions in the sulphur content of automotive fuels and other liquid fuels.

In addition, the recently published National Climate Change Strategy, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas Library, contains a number of cross-cutting measures which will further facilitate a reduction in SO2 emissions, including in regard to the ESB Moneypoint plant, the single largest SO2 point source in the State; the use of cleaner fuels in electricity generation; improving efficiency of electricity generation, and improving efficiency in the domestic and industrial sectors.