*Pedestrian measures have ended in Ennis.
ENNIS IS ONCE again breaching air pollution limits set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
On Wednesday morning, PM2.5 concentration in Ennis was 1.2 times the WHO annual air quality guideline value. PM stands for particulate matter and the 2.5 refers to size.
Air limits for PM10 were breached on Monday in Ennis in the county town.
An approximate 1,300 premature deaths occur in Ireland each year that are linked to air pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency has said.
Síle Ginnane of Better Ennis, a community advocacy group said they were “deeply concerned” that Ennis is “facing into another winter” of breaching air pollution limits. “There is an impact of air pollution to health, there are 1400 premature deaths a year linked to air pollution but it doesn’t encapsulate the impact on health, it increases the risk of asthmas, stroke, dementia and low birth rate”.
While Ennis has not exceeded European levels, Síle flagged that WHO limits are “more stringent”. She explained, “clean air is essential for good health, we wouldn’t drink dirty water and yet people in Ennis are getting used to poor air quality, we’re nearly expecting it every winter so why are we breathing in dirty air, it is not polluted air it is dirty air and language matters”.
Research at an academic level shows “increased hospitalisations based on air pollution,” Síle told The Clare Echo. “We know air pollution makes people sick, the stroke and dementia study was done in Trinity, this is not a far off land”. Ginnane continued, “it is like a blindspot, for the most part it is invisible, it is having an impact on people’s health like children, older people, people with disabilities and people who are already sick”.
She added, “We’d love to be corrected but there seems to be so little enforcement and enforcement lies with the local authority”. Within the local authority, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) has previously sought a countywide air quality plan but this wasn’t deemed necessary by senior officials in Clare County Council including engineer, Cyril Feeney.
Introduced in Ennis in 2011, a smoky coal ban “is not being enforced,” Síle felt. “Some people have no alternative heat source so they might be from lower socio-economic background so it is really important that enforcement goes hand in hand with outreach for retrofitting and ensuring social housing is retrofitting. It is important to raise awareness, for people using wood burning stoves, it is not just causing air pollution for neighbours and towns but is also dangerous for people indoors. We need to be responsible about it because it is impacting on everyone’s health, it is people indoor and outside, pollution travels, it is not withing your own boundary”.
Absence of a traffic monitor, the nearest one is in Henry Street in Limerick, is failing to indicate if Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) is an issue in the county town, she said, “It is not to true to say it isn’t coming from traffic because it is monitored”.
Better Ennis who advocate for the pedestrianisation of Ennis also believe the removal of such measures is not helping the town’s air quality. “A number of elected representatives are saying they want cleaner air but they essentialy removed pedestrianisation which removes the quality of air in our town which reduces pollution there. People objecting to smoky coal ban are also saying we need to solve the hospital trolley problem and they are in conflict. You can’t want healthy air and be against pedestrianisation and you can’t be against a smoky coal ban and expect to get people off trolleys,” Ennis based Síle said.
