New curbs on pesticide use adopted by local authority in Westmeath

Westmeath County Council has adopted a new policy which is designed to limit its use of controversial chemical pesticides, such as glyphosate.

The council's 'Rational Use of Pesticides Policy' was formally adopted at its monthly meeting in Mullingar last week.

The move was welcomed by the Mayor of the Athlone Moate Municipal District, Green Party councillor Louise Heavin.

"I raised the issue to stop using glyphosate as my first motion in the council chamber," said Cllr Heavin, who was elected in 2019.

"It has taken so many years to get to this point. The can has been well and truly kicked down the road. But I'm glad to say we now have a new policy in place which will limit the use of glyphosate to invasive species only."

She said "plenty of people" had been in touch with her to express concerns in relation to this issue, including in recent weeks when there was "a contractor going around spraying" in local areas.

The council's new policy stated that "pesticides such as glyphosate are harmful to the environment and continue to be a threat on the county's biodiversity".

It said "every effort will be made" by the council to use alternative, non-chemical methods of controlling weeds, but it noted that there were some exceptions in which "alternative methods are not currently available or effective, for example in the management of invasive species on national roads".

Alternative methods for weed control "will now be researched and trialled, such as hot water treatment, foam stream, flame weeding or mechanical means", the council said, and these methods are to be "first considered for use before pesticide use".

The change may have "a budgetary implication" for the local authority, as the alternative, non-chemical treatments "may not be as economical" as the use of pesticides such as glyphosate.

The policy also indicated that it would not be possible for the council to eliminate all weed growth in public areas.

"In this regard, a tolerance of weeds may become more normal," the policy stated.

The 'Rational Use of Pesticides Policy' emerged from a discussion document which was drafted in February by TUS Athlone law lecturer Alison Hough and was then circulated during a consultation process.

Ms Hough volunteers with the Westmeath Environmental and Climate Action Network (WECAN), and also sits on the council's Planning and Transport Strategic Policy Committee.

She said the new policy "only affects the council, it doesn't affect private landowners or farmers using pesticides on their own land, but it will hopefully set a good example."

She also pointed out that the biggest user of pesticides in Westmeath was the county council.

"This doesn't ban the use of pesticides, or glyphosate in particular, but it does say that the council has to go through a hierarchical process of consideration before they use it.

"There should be a justification for the use of the pesticide, there shouldn't just be blanket spraying. (The council has) to consider other alternatives first, like maybe turning an area into a wildflower meadow, or mechanical or hand-weeding, etc.

"If pesticides are to be used, a risk assessment should be carried out, to see what the risks are to people in the area.

"At the moment, the risk assessments that are carried out are only in relation to the employees using the pesticides, not in relation to people who are exposed to them in the local area."

She said such risk assessments for future pesticide use would have to take into account factors like whether children or vulnerable people were using the areas being treated.

"It would consider whether there is a particular risk that should be borne in mind, and whether the methods of spraying should be modified to take account of that. Should there be notices put up? Should the area be cleared for a certain period?

"That is all required by European Union law, but Ireland hasn't been implementing the (EU's) sustainable use of pesticides directive. It's a 2009 directive and we've never implemented it fully here, so the idea is to implement the EU law on the subject directly in Westmeath.

"Similar policies have been introduced in Wicklow, and by Dublin City Council," she added.

"It is more difficult for the council, it's more work for them, but if it's safer and it helps biodiversity then I think it's an important achievement in these times."