There has been a noticeable deterioration in the quality of the air as one walks around the streets of Dublin, to which sufferers of asthma can attest. Ten times as many people die by air pollution than in road accidents in the European Union. The United Nations has stated the failure of governments across the world, including Ireland, to ensure their citizens can breathe clean air is a violation of the rights to life, health and well-being. The Clean Air Alliance claims that four people die in Ireland each day from the effects of air pollution and that approximately 1,150 premature deaths in Ireland are attributable to air pollution. The Minister previously told me that up to 6 June, 98 breaches of the daily air quality limit had been recorded in the State, of which 65 had occurred in Dublin, including two in the Phoenix Park. The Government is all talk and no action about air pollution, its impact on the ecosystem and climate change. When will we see some action, as opposed to mountains of verbiage?

I am conscious that there have been exceedances of air quality limits. My Department is sitting down with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the local authorities to identify measures we could take in the short term to tackle the issue. As the Deputy knows, the climate action plan has at its heart the dramatic reduction of our dependence on fossil fuels, which causes much of the air pollution.

Where is the action?

In that context, we are pursuing a strategy to switch to electric vehicles in substantial numbers, to switch to cycling and public transport and to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels across the system. We are conscious that this is an issue of huge public importance and we are putting strategies in place to deliver on it. That is at the heart of what we will be working on in the coming months and years.