Monitoring & Assessment: Air Publications

Air quality in Ireland in 2018

           Key Findings

• Levels at monitoring sites in Ireland were below the EU legislative limit values in 2018.
• Ireland was above World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guideline value levels at a number of monitoring sites for fine particulate matter, ozone and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
• Ireland was above the European Environment Agency reference level for PAH, a toxic chemical, at four monitoring sites.

          Problem pollutants

• Particulate matter from burning of solid fuel.
• Nitrogen dioxide from transport emissions in urban areas.
• Indications that we will exceed EU limit values for NO2 in the near future.

  To tackle the problem of particulate matter we should:

• Move towards clean ways of heating our homes.
• Improve energy efficiency of homes.

  To reduce the impact of NO2 we can:

• Implement the transport options in the government’s Climate Strategy.
• Individuals should consider their transport choices.