Air Quality Zones

Under the Clean Air for Europe Directive, EU member states must designate "Zones" for the purpose of managing air quality. For Ireland, four zones were defined in the Air Quality Standards Regulations (2011). The zones were amended on 1 January 2013 to take account of population counts from the 2011 CSO Census and to align with the coal restricted areas in the 2012 Regulations (S.I. No. 326 of 2012).

Maps of the zones are available on EPA Maps.

The main areas defined in each zone are:

• Zone A: Dublin
• Zone B: Cork
• Zone C: Other cities and large towns comprising Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Drogheda, Dundalk, Bray, Navan, Ennis, Tralee, Kilkenny, Carlow, Naas, Sligo, Newbridge, Mullingar, Wexford, Letterkenny, Athlone, Celbridge, Clonmel, Balbriggan, Greystones, Leixlip and Portlaoise.
• Zone D: Rural Ireland, i.e. the remainder of the State excluding Zones A, B and C.

The full definitions of the zones (by Electoral District) is available in the publications section of the EPA website.