Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 January 2017
578. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the plans and initiatives being put in place to measure and monitor air emissions and pollutants as required under a forthcoming EU directive (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3175/17]
View answer579. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the details of any additional funding being provided to the Environmental Protection Agency to enable it to measure and monitor air emissions and pollutants in order to ensure Ireland meets commitments set out in the revised Gothenburg protocol which a new directive (details supplied) incorporates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3176/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 578 and 579 together.
The final transposition date for the recently introduced National Emissions Ceiling Directive (Directive EU 2016/2284) is 1 July 2018. The Directive is a key element of the EU's Clean Air Package, which aims to reduce air pollution and improve air quality across Europe.
My Department is undertaking a number of policy initiatives in anticipation of the Directive coming into force and to address concerns about the impacts of air pollution on human health and the environment.
I expect to launch a consultation paper on Ireland's first ever National Clean Air Strategy in the coming weeks, with a view to having the strategy in place by the end of the year. The strategy will set a progressive vision for managing and improving Ireland’s air quality and will seek to integrate a range of considerations into future policy on air quality. The development of the strategy is especially timely, in the context of the EU's Clean Air Package, as it will act as a policy framework for the implementation of the provisions of the package in Ireland. It will also complement and add value to it, by having a particular focus on national priority areas not addressed by EU legislation. This process necessarily involves discussion and consultation with a wide number of stakeholders, including the European Commission, relevant Departments and agencies of Government, the residential fuel industry, and the general public. Discussions on issues that may arise in connection with the strategy have already commenced with some of these stakeholders.
In addition, the EPA has commenced preparation of a draft national ambient air monitoring programme under section 65 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 (as amended), which will provide the basis and options for the continued development and expansion of the national ambient air monitoring network, including providing the data necessary to inform funding decisions. The development of the national ambient air monitoring programme will include a review of the adequacy of the current network for both determining compliance with European and national standards for air quality and for the provision of information to the public about local air quality. A stakeholder consultation on this process was recently completed, and my officials look forward to further engagement with the agency on this important initiative over the coming year.
