Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

482 Chapter 17: Conclusions Transport. The National Sustainable Mobility Policy set significant targets of at least 500,000 additional daily active travel and public transport journeys and a 10% reduction in kilometres driven by fossil-fuelled cars by 2030 (DoT, 2022). These were updated in the Climate Action Plan 2024 to a 50% increase in daily active travel journeys, a 130% increase in daily public transport journeys and a 20% reduction in total vehicle- kilometres travelled by 2030 (DECC, 2023b). In delivering on this ambition, key commitments were improving rail infrastructure in the five cities, commencing construction of MetroLink in Dublin, and continuing the design and development of other light rail projects in the Greater Dublin Area and Cork. Housing. The draft First Revision to the National Planning Framework identifies the need for 50,000 new dwellings per annum to 2040. The recent Housing Commission report suggests an even larger need for up to an additional 1.92 million dwellings, based on population forecasts ranging between 6.25 and 7.25 million persons between 2024 and 2050 (Housing Commission, 2024). The delivery of this housing, together with water and energy services and transport infrastructure, will place an extremely large demand on nationally sourced construction products. In 2019, the Irish Concrete Federation estimated that 1.5 billion tonnes of aggregates were needed to meet the housing and infrastructure targets set down in the government’s Project Ireland 2040 plan. Given the increasing population and ambition in the draft National Planning Framework, demand can be expected to grow over the coming years and it is essential that investment infrastructure is sustainable, using secondary raw materials preferentially where possible. Circular economy. The European Commission’s Ireland’s Country Report 2024 8 highlighted that there is still an estimated investment gap of €827 million over 2021-2027 if we are to achieve the circular economy transition, with more investment required in eco-design, repair, reuse and remanufacturing and in infrastructure for separating waste and treatment and recycling facilities. 8 economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/document/download/9f14e528-de10-41aa-8b4d-01c5848784c8_ en?filename=SWD_2024_607_1_EN_Ireland.pdf (accessed 6 September 2024). Collectively, these infrastructural projects constitute an extremely large delivery challenge to provide Ireland with the assets needed to meet the challenges of its growing population and economy while providing systems that protect the environment. Investment decisions made in this decade will define the infrastructure that will be available to our society for the next 50 years and need to be fully aligned with achieving the transition to a low-carbon society. Maintaining and enhancing current investment will be key to this delivery and will need to be a critical facet of national development in the coming decade. Protecting the environment to protect our health Protecting the environment is key to protecting our health and we must act to reduce the modifiable risks to our health from environmental exposures. Creating healthy places free from environmental hazards is key to creating a healthier and fairer society in which everyone can thrive. There is substantial evidence of the positive impact of engagement with nature and our environment, with links to better mental health and wellbeing, physical activity, stress reduction and social interactions. Our natural environment is also capable of reducing many hazards such as air pollution. On the other side, harmful exposures can have substantial impacts on our health and well-being, with one in ten premature deaths in Europe linked to environmental pollution (EEA, 2023a). In Ireland, more than 1600 premature deaths annually are due to air pollution (EEA, 2023b), and approximately 350 new cases of lung cancer each year in Ireland are linked to radon. Over 1.3 million people are estimated to be exposed to road traffic noise above the WHO guidance levels. Issues related to drinking water quality have persisted for many years, particularly with regard to private drinking water supplies and private wells.