EPA - Ireland's Environment 2016 - An Assessment

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125 Chapter 8: Environment, Health and Wellbeing
The European Environment Agency (EEA) estimates
that poor air quality contributes to 432,000 premature
deaths in Europe each year (EEA, 2015). The most
significant pollutant identified by the EEA was particulate
matter, which mainly arises in Ireland from traffic
emissions and the burning of smoky fuels for home
heating. As regards Ireland, the EEA reported that
1,200 premature deaths every year can be attributed
to particulate matter exposure. The response required
here is clear: policymakers, legislators and regulators
need to ensure that the safest fuel and transport options
are favoured and promoted to assist people in making
healthier decisions. In parallel, individuals need to consider
how their behaviours impact on our environment,
and therefore contribute to health problems such as
respiratory and heart disease in our own communities.
Threats to our environment, health and wellbeing are
continually emerging. These include climate change, as,
for example, extreme weather events in Ireland are likely
to result in increased flooding and risks to drinking water.
The EEA refers to other emerging health threats in its most
recent State of the Environment report (2015a), including
new chemicals and mixtures of chemicals, nanomaterials,
endocrine-disrupting hormones and patterns of production
and consumption.
In 2013, the Government published the Healthy Ireland
framework, which aims to bring about changes to make
Ireland a place where everyone has the opportunity to live
a healthful life –in terms of both physical and mental health.
The inclusion of “wellbeing” in the national discussion
on health marks a welcome development, as it moves
our ambition beyond “disease prevention” and embraces
a fuller vision of people who are living well and have a
general sense of satisfaction. Producing a safe, attractive
environment and facilitating access for people from all social
groups and cultures brings wide-ranging benefits. These
benefits are both social, such as improvements in wellbeing
and reductions in disease incidence; and economic, such as
savings on health service provision and improving workforce
health (leading to less absenteeism).
Healthy Ireland – A Framework for
Improved Health and Wellbeing
Any environmental degradation has the potential to
adversely impact on health. ” is a
national Government framework for action to improve
the health and wellbeing of the people of Ireland.
Its main focus is on prevention and keeping people
healthier for longer. Healthy Ireland’s goals are to:
n increase the proportion of people who are healthy
at all stages of life
n reduce health inequalities
n protect the public from threats to health and
wellbeing, and
n create an environment where every individual and
sector of society can play their part in achieving a
healthy nation.
Healthy Ireland is founded on an underlying model of
“determinants of health”, which articulates a complex
range of health-influencing factors that recognise the
importance of environmental conditions alongside
genetic, social, structural, cultural and economic
factors (based on work by Dahlgren and Whitehead
(1991), and Barton and Grant (2006)). The Healthy
Ireland framework takes a whole-of-society approach
to improving health and wellbeing and the quality of
people’s lives. In recognition of the human responses
to different environmental threats and opportunities,
the EPA has an active part to play in government
actions to achieve the Healthy Ireland goals. Visit
to find out more.