Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 March 2024
83. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the role his Department takes in monitoring air quality; the number of air quality testing stations in Cork; if he will provide an overview of their results for 2022, 2023, and to date in 2024; if there will be additional funding provided for more air testing stations in Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11148/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraNational air quality monitoring stations are operated, maintained, and monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme (AAMP). My Department has provided funding for a significant upgrade to the network in recent years, and the number of monitoring stations has increased from 29 in 2017 to 116 today.
At present there are no plans to expand this network as the AAMP is now supported by a new air quality modelling and forecasting facility developed under the LIFE EMERALD project which fills in the gaps between the station network data. The forecast maps were launched by the EPA last November and predict the daily air quality for up to 3 days.
All stations collect air quality data for a range of pollutants to provide information to the public, and for assessment against European legal limit values and World Health Organisation guideline values. The EPA produce an annual report on Air Quality in Ireland which provides an overview of our air quality and key issues that impact it. Details of the locations of all monitoring stations currently in operation, along with real-time and historic data from each station, can be found at the website, www.airquality.ie.
Officials from my Department meet regularly with EPA colleagues to discuss the operation of, and findings from, the official network so that they feed into future policy development through the implementation of the Clean Air Strategy.
In Cork, there are four air quality monitoring stations installed across the city as part of the National Ambient Air Quality Network. These stations play a crucial role in assessing air quality. Monitoring results indicate good air quality, with concentrations of the main transport related parameters below the national ambient air quality standards.
In addition the local authorities in Cork also operate a low cost sensor network in collaboration with UCC and additional information can be found on this at corkairquality.ie/.
