December 14th, 2018 Scientists from NUI Galway have found low levels of glyphosate exposure among professional gardeners and amenity horticultural workers in Ireland following four years of research. The results of the breakthrough study– published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health – indicate that low levels of Read more…
April 13th, 2018 New data from the Department of Agriculture reveals that 3,135 tonnes of pesticides were used in Ireland in 2016. Pesticide sprays include herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and other industrial chemicals. The 2016 data points to an increase of 14 tonnes on the previous year, and a jump of Read more…
March 6th, 2018 Most neonicotinoid pesticides are a danger to bees and honeybees, new research from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has confirmed. The research from the EFSA’s Pesticides Unit indicates that the use of neonicotinoid pesticides on outdoor crops represents a risk to wild bees and honeybees as Read more…
Farmers’ livelihoods are at risk by inadequate State planning for climate change. This is the view of the Green Party’s agriculture spokesperson, Pippa Hackett, who, speaking after the launch of a new Government report on creating a climate resilient agriculture and forestry sector, said the State is “completely failing to Read more…
August 15th, 2017 A common neonicotinoid pesticide threatens bumblebees with an increased risk of extinction, a new study has shown. The study found that thiamethoxam, a neonicotinoid pesticide widely used on agricultural crops across the world, decreased the ability of bumblebee queens to start new colonies by more than a Read more…
August 15th, 2017 Herbicides are widely used throughout Ireland to control weeds, but there are growing concerns surrounding the damage these chemicals may be doing to our health and to the health of the environment. We talk to Shane Casey, a Biodiversity Officer for Dublin City Council, about alternative weed Read more…
July 11th, 2017 A new study, part-funded by pesticide manufacturers Bayer and Syngenta, has found that pesticides pose a major risk to European honeybees and wild bees. The study is based on work by researchers from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) who carried out a large-scale experiment to assess the Read more…
February 24th 2017 Agrichemical giants, Bayer and Syngenta, are back in the European courts attempting to have the European Commission’s neonicotinoid ban overturned. Following on from two separate reviews by the European Food and Safety Authority (ESFA) in 2013, the European Commission imposed a ban on three neonicotinoids; clothianidin, imidacloprid Read more…
August 25th, 2016 A new pesticide, found to be harmful to bees, is currently awaiting approval for sale in Ireland. Developed by agrochemical firm Bayer, flupyradifurone is the first in a new class of pesticide called Butenolides. Environmental groups PAN Europe and Bee Life say, however, that its chemical structure and Read more…
Yesterday, EU deputies failed, for the third time, to reach an agreement on whether or not to renew glyphosate, leaving the future of the product uncertain.
More commonly known as Roundup, the herbicide made by agrichemical group Monsanto needs 55% of the vote to pass, but several countries are opposed to its continuation as it is suspected to affect bees and the health of the population. Only Malta voted against the proposal, 20 countries voted for it and 7 countries abstained.
