Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 October 2023
20. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Transport what plans he has to reduce air pollution from traffic in order to comply with World Health Organization limits; his views on the recent research finding (details supplied) that almost everyone in Ireland is breathing dangerously polluted air; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43109/23]
View answerEarlier this year, to address the environmental and public health issues associated with air pollution, this Government approved a new Clean Air Strategy for Ireland - published by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.
The Clean Air Strategy seeks to enhance and protect the quality of air that we breathe through a comprehensive suite of cross-Government policies and measures that targets all sources of air pollution, including those from the transport, agriculture and residential sectors. Amongst its key commitments is to meet the WHO Guidelines Value by 2040.
To address air pollution from transport more specifically, the Department of Transport works closely with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and both departments co-chair the Urban Transport-Related Air Pollution Working Group (UTRAP). This Group, which consists of representatives from relevant government departments, agencies, local authorities and transport operators, published an updated assessment of urban transport-related air pollution issues in February this year.
With co-benefits for human health and urban environments as well as for reduced air pollutant emission levels, measures being taken to address these issues include 91 actions under our National Sustainable Mobility Policy. Collectively, these measures aim to create a transformational increase in additional daily sustainable mobility journeys - walking, cycling, public and shared transport - by 2030.
The publication of the Five Cities Traffic Demand Management Study in 2021 also established an important toolkit of measures for reducing traffic-related urban air pollution - and these are informing the development of a new National Demand Management Strategy for transport, which is expected to be published in 2024.
This new Strategy will support the commitment in the Climate Action Plan 2023 to reduce vehicle kilometres travelled by 20% as part of the overall effort to halve transport emissions by 2030. The aim of the Strategy is to ensure that our transport system can operate efficiently into the future, with a strong emphasis on co-benefits such as health, air quality, road safety and placemaking. The Strategy will be high-level in nature and will define the type of measures that may be deployed nationally.
Along with measures to reduce transport demand and increase sustainable mobility significant progress has been achieved in promoting the electrification of the public and private vehicle fleet including the establishment of Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland (ZEVI) in July 2022. ZEVI is leading on the delivery of the Ireland’s ambitious targets to have an expected 30% of our private car fleet switched to electric vehicles by 2030.
As above, while pollutants originate from several sources, the transport sector accounts for more than 35% of Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 10% of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Existing policy measures will go a long way towards reducing transport’s contribution to these pollutants, but further action may be needed - from all sectors - to comply with the WHO guidelines, and the timeframes envisaged within the Clean Air Strategy.
The Department of Transport will continue to work closely with the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications via the UTRAP Working Group to support the ambition of the Clean Air Strategy.
