People in Ireland could be entitled to compensation from the State over the health effects of illegal levels of air pollution if a European court follows though on the opinion of one of its legal advisers.
European Union citizens may be able to sue member states for compensation in such circumstances, according to an opinion delivered by an advocate general of the Court of Justice of the EU last month.
The case will be watched in Government circles in the wake of the so-called “turf wars” Coalition row over plans to ban the sale of smoky fuels including coal and turf.
Rose Wall, a solicitor specialising in environmental law, said the case could set a precedent in EU law, which would be binding in Ireland.
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Juliane Kokott, an advocate general of the EU Court of Justice, delivered an opinion to judges saying that EU member states may be liable for health damage caused by excessive air pollution.
The opinion comes after a case where a resident of Paris is suing the French government for €21 million was referred to the EU court. The man claims his health was damaged after the French government failed to ensure compliance with EU air pollution limits.
Opinions provided by the EU court’s advocate generals are not binding and judges are making a ruling at a later date.
Ms Wall, chief executive of Dublin and Limerick based free legal aid organisation Community Law and Mediation, said people in Ireland can already sue the State if there has been a breach of EU legal limits for air pollution which have caused or exacerbated health difficulties.
But she said: “As noted by the advocate general, the difficulty in holding governments to account on health harms caused by air pollution is the need to prove a direct causal link between the breach of the rules on air quality and specific damage to health.”
Ms Wall said, “while no air pollution case has yet been pursued on health grounds in Ireland, it is not beyond the realm of possibility”. She said Ireland regularly breaches World Health Organisation air quality limits and, on one occasion in 2019, breached an EU legal limit.
If the Court of Justice of the EU rules in line with the advocate general’s opinion “it would establish a precedent in EU law which would be legally binding on all 28 member states, including Ireland” she said.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan had been pushing for the smoky fuels ban from September, arguing that air pollution caused by smoky fuels is responsible for 1,300 deaths per year.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil backbenchers resisted the plans, raising concerns about the impact on traditional turf cutting and people who rely on the fuel.
The issue was defused somewhat after Taoiseach Micheál Martin told the Dáil that there would be no ban on turf sales for the remainder of the year.
