COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, June 12, 2023

QUESTION NO.12

QUESTION: Councillor E. Ó Broin

To ask the chief executive how this council prioritises action on Air Pollution?

REPLY:

Enforcement for Air & Noise pollution is delivered on behalf of South Dublin County Council by Environmental Health Officers from the Health Service Executive (HSE). Their priorities stem from The National Enforcement Priorities (NEPs) for 2023. These are set following consultation with the NIECE Steering Committee, CCMA representatives, Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, Department of Housing, Planning, Local Government and Heritage, WERLA and LAWPRO. For 2023, these priorities are

These priorities feed into the preparation of the Councils annual RMCEI plan, as submitted to the EPA, which this year will see some 164 planned Air & Noise inspections and approximately 180 responsive ones.

In relation to sale of Solid Fuels, The Environmental Health Department of South Dublin County Council plan to carry out 30 inspections of retailers selling solid fuel products within its boundary area. They survey the physical area of the county as well as carrying out online phishing exercises to identify any retailers that have not previously been identified in the county as well the possibility of retailers from outside the county delivering smoky fuels to addresses in SDCC area.

Environmental Health are enforcing compliance with retail owners and managers in relation to the requirements of new solid fuel legislation.  Each solid fuel retailer will be visited and written to advising them that an inspection has occurred at their retail premises and its outcome after the fact.

Environmental Health will continue to offer information and highlight the harmful effects of burning smoky coal and domestic refuse when we receive complaints and hopefully this will bring pollution incidence down even further.

The Environmental Health Department also advises the council’s planning department to add conditions to planning applications that they believe are likely to cause a noise or air nuisance in order to ensure that the environment and residents are not impacted in any adverse way by any development.

In relation to Air Quality Monitoring, South Dublin acquired its second EPA Designated Air monitoring site recently. This is located at Adamstown Road Lucan, at the kerbside directly outside carpark at Scoil Áine Naofa.  Our original trafficked station is located on Old Bawn Road and the air monitored is of a high quality. 

To give you a flavour of our latest monitor :-

Nitrogen Dioxide is a traffic pollutant and therefore values reflect the level of traffic in the vicinity. NO2 is a brownish gas that dissipates and breaks up quite easily the further one moves away from a roadway.  The continued increase in the numbers of Electric vehicles on our roads will see an improvement in levels detected. Like most European counties, NO2 remains the priority traffic pollutant in Ireland. The new Government initiative on solid fuel is linked in with it’s overall aims under Climate Action. There is a commitment to establish an Air Enforcement capability within all local authorities with a view to reducing the pollution levels from the burning of solid fuels throughout the country. In South Dublin, Environmental Health Officers carry out unannounced inspections of retail outlets and supplier premises to check for compliance that old approved fuels are on sale.  Overall, the level of compliance is of a high standard and the proposed changes should enhance the profile further of this work.