Cork County Council looks set to become the first local authority in the country to pursue this goal in response to a recent study carried out by a University College Cork professor.

The move comes after councillors expressed concerns about the lack of information they had on air quality in the region and more importantly about a recent deterioration noted at a monitoring station in Cobh.

A new facility in Cork is set to take the most detailed measurements yet of air pollution, which scientists say is responsible for more than 1,500 premature deaths in Ireland every year.