Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

38 Chapter 2: Air The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified poor air quality as the single largest threat to public health (WHO, 2021). Poor air quality is linked to premature death and life-limiting conditions such as dementia (Wood et al. , 2022), type 2 diabetes and neonatal mortality (GBD 2019 Risk Factors Collaborators, 2020). Long-term exposure to particulate matter contributes to the risk of developing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as lung cancer (WHO, 2024). The European Environment Agency (EEA) estimates that in excess of 1600 premature deaths in Ireland annually are due to air pollution from causes including cardiovascular disease and respiratory illnesses (EEA, 2023b). Irish research has shown the impacts of poor air quality on older citizens (Ó Domhnaill et al. , 2022) and the increased incidence of stroke due to air pollution (Byrne et al., 2020). Recently published research also shows estimated healthcare costs of €56 million over 4 years for five conditions attributable to air pollution (ESRI, 2023). Irish research also shows that, for the older population, higher fine particulate concentrations (Figure 2.2) are associated with an increase in the prevalence of both depression and anxiety (ESRI, 2023). Figure 2.2  Health impacts of air pollution Source: Irish Heart Foundation