Malcolm Noonan (Green Party)

I wish to be associated with the comments made about Martin Groves. I wish him all the best and hope there is an opportunity to pay tribute to him at some point.

On behalf of the Green Party, I join in the expressions of sympathy for the late pontiff, Pope Francis. His encyclical letter, Laudato Si ': On Care For Our Common Home, was mentioned. It was a rallying call for nature restoration and a deconstruction of our economic growth model. His embrace of the LGBTIQ community and trans people will also be notable. I listened to Colm O’Gorman this morning and, certainly, there is a mixed legacy there but it is still largely a positive legacy. I also pay tribute to Katie McCabe, our first women's national team member to reach a Champions League final. That is a huge achievement for a member of the women's national team. I am not an Arsenal fan, but it is a great achievement for her.

The main issue I wish to raise is a report that came out from Uisce Éireann on pesticides and herbicides in water supplies and drinking water. There has not been a marked increase but there has been a significant increase nonetheless in pesticide residues in our water supplies. Uisce Éireann is attributing much of this to surface run-off and inappropriate use. The fact you can buy glyphosate and weed killers in supermarkets and stores is something that needs to be given consideration. There are much more stringent conditions on it in other countries or jurisdictions. Some legal restrictions on over-the-counter availability of these dangerous and harmful herbicides should be considered. They have important uses in agriculture, it must be noted, and certainly in the management of invasive species, but if we have increasing levels of pesticide residues in our water supplies, it is of concern to us all. We are now looking at issues with herbicide resistance in species like Italian rye grass, and that is going to be of concern to the farming community. There is a wider regulatory regime needed for herbicides and pesticides in this country, and it is something I ask the Minister to give consideration to.