The Irish government has approved a series of amendments to the Air Pollution Act that will provide ‘robust legislation’ to protect Irish citizens from harmful air pollution.
The amendments to the Act are incorporated into the Air Pollution (Amendment) Bill 2025, and are primarily focused on strengthening the enforcement tools available to local authorities, particularly in addressing the commercial sale and supply of non-compliant solid fuels.
‘Quicker, simpler and more proportionate’
According to the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, the new legislation will ‘facilitate quicker, simpler and more proportionate enforcement’ at a local level.
Commenting on the amendments to the Act, Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O’Brien TD, noted that some 1,700 premature deaths were attributed to air pollution in Ireland in 2022.
“Our aim is to significantly reduce that number as we continue to implement the Clean Air Strategy,” he said. “The amendments to the current Act, as proposed in this Bill, are a key next step in its delivery. It will go a long way to ensure we have the legislation in place to support the measures required to continue to reduce air pollution.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues across Government to introduce this new legislation.”
Read more: Ireland off-track to meet emissions targets following 2% decline last year
Clean Air Strategy
Other developments under the Clean Air Strategy, as outlined in a progress report published last week, include the establishment of a pilot project with selected local authorities to address concerns related to transport and solid fuel burning; new awareness resources developed in conjunction with the Irish Heart Foundation; the launch of www.cleanair.ie by Cork City Council; and progress in the agriculture sector, including the reduced use of nitrogen fertilisers and increased adoption of low-emission slurry spreading
As the government noted, the bill does not impact the current arrangements in place for householders and also makes no changes to the existing rules that relate to turf. Read more here.
