The data, complied by vehicle record experts Cartell.ie, shows that when it comes to CO2 emissions Dublin ranks as the worst offender. Ordinarily this would be attributable to the capital's population density but with Cork (the second most populated county) ranking 15th on the list the explanation goes further than that.
Dublin's status as the country's economic heartland, accounting for much of the workforce, is evidenced by the fact that all but one of the top five could be described as being on the 'commuter belt' with Meath ranking second on the dirty list. The private used cars that were used to calculate the data sitting in traffic on roads not designed for such volumes explains the higher than average output. Unsurprisingly Leinster is classed as the dirtiest province with Connaught the cleanest.
The cleanest county in Ireland is Leitrim, which records an average CO2 rating of just 132.3521g/km compared to the national average of 133.9372g/km.
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