November 26th, 2019
The Green Party has criticised the State for the continued delay in the introduction of a nationwide smoky coal ban owing to pressure from lobby groups.
The
criticism comes on the heels of the release of preliminary findings in a joint EPA-HSE
study that outlines the health impacts of poor air quality in Ireland.
The study’s findings, first published in The Sunday Business Post earlier this month, outline a link between hospital admissions for lung and heart conditions and daily incidences of “fair or poor” air quality in Ireland.
The findings are based on data from hospital inpatient information and EPA air pollution figures but do not take admissions to emergency units or pharmacy visits into account.
In July, the Minister for the Environment Richard Bruton TD said that his Department was loath to roll out a nationwide coal ban due to threats of a legal challenge by the coal industry.
Mr Bruton said that he was
“disappointed” that coal firms had taken the route of legal pressure
but promised to devise a “legally robust” plan for improving national
air quality.
Green Party MEP for Dublin, Ciarán Cuffe said, however, that it is “unacceptable” for Mr Bruton to delay the ban of smoky coal.
“It is time for Minister Bruton to
lawyer up and challenge the coal lobby head-on. If he doesn’t take action,
people continue to die,” he added.
The ban on smoky coal in the capital was
rolled out three decades ago and is reported to be responsible for averting 8,000 premature deaths
since its introduction. Air
pollution has an estimated health-related cost of €2 billion per year,
according to the HSE.
Green Party Councillor for Dublin
Mid-West, Peter Kavanagh, who works with older people with Active Retirement
Ireland, said that he is particularly concerned about the impact on senior
citizens.
“At a time when our health services
and hospitals, in particular, are under extreme pressure, it is inexcusable
that Government is once again bowing to vested interests at the expense of
ordinary people,” he said.
In Ireland, the EPA reports an estimate of
1,180 premature deaths due to air pollution, and the issue has been described
as “a global public health emergency” by the World Health
Organisation (WHO).
Ireland’s air quality is relatively good
by European standards, but it does not fare so well when measured against more
stringent WHO guidelines, according to the EPA.
The country has exceeded WHO guideline values
for PM10 and PM2.5 – very fine particulates smaller than 10 micrometres that
can enter the lungs and cause significant health problems.
The EPA had previously warned that the continued burning of solid fuels such as peat and coal is the key driver of poor air quality in Ireland.
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