Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 12 May 2022

Committee on Public Petitions

Consideration of Public Petition on a Ban on Herbicides in Public Areas: Discussion

Photo of Martin BrowneMartin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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Should risk assessments be done before spraying begins? Most of the time when spraying is carried out a risk assessment is done and handed into the Department. We do not know if the Department ever looks at the risk assessments. Should risk assessments be done and clearance given before any pesticides are sprayed? Is that feasible given staffing levels and the resources available to councils? Does Mr. Walsh propose an alternative way of monitoring how the risk assessments are done in the lead-up to pesticides being sprayed in any particular area?