Mr. James Walsh:

Yes. I will start with the issue of private use. For example, where I was living previously in a village in north Cork, there were four roads coming into the village, one or two big farmers were living on the edge of the village. All four roads were sprayed with pesticide on the road verges, sometimes on stretches up to half a mile long. Children were forced to stand in this pesticide when they were walking. As I have said, there were no warning signs to say the area had just been sprayed. Their shoes would already have been contaminated. Where I live now, the playground is sprayed. Children are most likely to have come into contact with pesticides already, on their skin and definitely on their clothes, and bringing it into their houses where there may also be pets. One of my neighbours has told me he will not bring the dog out after any spraying. Another person I met had brought a similar petition to his local council in Carrick-on-Shannon. He collected 1,300 signatures. He said people had stopped going to the park over it. Mothers would not bring their children to the park anymore. Children are at high risk of getting contaminated with pesticides on their clothes and skin and breathing it in. This is especially if the area has just been sprayed. No warning signs are ever left.

Alternatives are not being used and it is not being documented. If it is private use, in most cases they are not even registered. Section 12 of SI 155 of 2012 clearly states a person shall not apply a pesticide in areas used by the public. It clearly outlines that only in certain cases, if the registered person cannot use any alternatives, might its use be considered, with clear evidence logged as to why an alternative did not work. That evidence must be logged, including how much was used, and a proper risk management system must also be in place. None of that is ever done. Private users are not registered. They do not know the law exists. There needs to be a public awareness campaign to tell people this law exists. It all starts with the shops where people buy the pesticides. If a person can see a sign to tell him or her it is illegal to spray the pesticides along a public road, in a caravan park, in a school or in a church, then the person is not going to do it. At the moment it is possible just to buy the pesticides. People do not understand anything about the law and the person in the shop is not telling the buyer anything about the law. The buyer does not know he or she is doing anything wrong and believes he or she is helping out by doing a little job for the church or the school by just spraying it. The person does not know anything about the law or anything about the pesticides being used.