Stormont can no longer ignore the danger of polluted air in our towns

THREE weeks ago, legal history was made when a coroner in London ruled that air pollution was the cause of the death of a nine-year-old girl, Ella Kissi-debrah.

Her death should be viewed as a piece of legal history. It is a tragic loss of life and devastating for her parents and family.

Ella lived in Lewisham, where she was exposed to toxic air, laden with nitrogen dioxide, the levels of which exceeded legal limits.

Her death reminds us that air pollution is a public health crisis. The risks are particularly acute for children, more so for those with respiratory conditions.

It is estimated that around 500-600 people die across Northern Ireland from conditions where toxic air was a contributing factor.

That’s a startling statistic that has been ignored by successive Stormont administrations.

Our inner cities and town centres are cloaked with an invisible, yet deadly, cloud of dirty air. Access to active travel, or public transport, is limited and so we’ve become reliant on cars and their emissions.

The response of our environment and infrastructure ministers has been to pose for photocalls and posture with discussion documents.

Other cities and urban conurbations have been transformed during the pandemic — developing cycle infrastructure, creating greater space for social distancing, advancing pedestrianisation and shifting away from an over-reliance on private cars.

It feels like we are missing the window of opportunity through delay and a paucity of ambition from the responsible departments.

Ella Kissi-debrah’s death and her brave mother’s battle to have the cause of death recognised leaves no room for our Executive to claim the impacts of air pollution are unclear.

They have a duty to ensure that the air we breathe is not detrimental to our health.

MALACHAI O’HARA Deputy leader, Green Party (NI)