Monitoring & Assessment: Air Publications

Air quality in Ireland 2023

Summary: Air quality in Ireland compares favourably with many of our European neighbours, however there are concerning localised issues which lead to poor air quality. Ireland met all of its EU legal requirements in 2023, but it did not meet the health-based WHO guidelines in 2023. Ireland and Europe should move towards achieving the health-based WHO air quality guidelines.

Published: 2024

ISBN: 978-1-80009-194-8

Pages: 11

Filesize: 4,645 KB

Format: pdf

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Ireland needs to tackle solid fuel burning and transport emissions to meet Clear Air Strategy ambition and protect public health

• Ireland’s latest monitoring shows air quality is in compliance with current EU standards, but achieving future targets will be very challenging.
• While the overall level of air pollution has reduced over recent decades, our understanding of the level at which air pollutants impact health has also been deepened by the updated guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO).
• The EPA has expanded Ireland’s air quality monitoring network to include 115 monitoring stations, up from 29 in 2017, and now provides real-time monitoring and forecasting on airquality.ie.
• Local authorities need to facilitate proactive choices on both home heating and travel through strong application of the Solid Fuel Regulations and supporting alternatives to car travel. 

The annual air quality report, Air Quality in Ireland 2023, is based on the extensive monitoring network in Ireland, which consists of 115 monitoring stations, reporting hourly, and is a leader across Europe in providing a 3-day air quality forecast. The report shows that Ireland has work to do to meet our Clean Air Strategy targets.  In particular, there are concerning localised issues which lead to poor air quality. While the overall level of air pollution has reduced over recent decades, our understanding of the level at which air pollutants impact health has also been deepened by the World Health Organization (WHO), which now advises that there are no safe levels of air pollution.

Ireland met the current EU legal air quality limits in 2023, but monitoring results were higher than the more stringent health-based World Health Organization air quality guidelines for a number of pollutants including: particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and ozone (O₃).  The main sources of these pollutants are the burning of solid fuel in our towns and villages and traffic in our cities.  In our Clean Air Strategy Ireland has committed to achieving the WHO guideline values by 2040, with interim targets for 2026 and 2030.  Despite comparing favourably with many of our European neighbours, Ireland’s 2023 monitoring results would exceed the soon-approaching 2026 targets. 

In 2023 air monitoring results from EPA stations across Ireland show that fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), mainly from burning solid fuel in our homes, and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), chiefly from road traffic, continue to be the main threats to good air quality.  High levels of these pollutants are often associated with cold, still weather from late autumn through to early spring, when generally incidents of poor air quality of one to two days duration occur.  The report identifies that using less solid fuel and cleaner fuels to heat our homes, making our homes more energy efficient and reducing our use of cars to go to school, work and play are actions that will contribute towards achieving our Clean Air targets.  Local authorities can facilitate people to make cleaner and healthier air quality choices by acting on the Solid Fuel Regulations and supporting alternatives to car travel. 

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