‘We must act now’ – local Euro election candidate calls for complete ban on hazardous pesticides

A LOCAL candidate in next month’s European elections has called for a complete ban on hazardous pesticides.

Adrienne Wallace, the People before Profit candidate for Ireland South, said: “We cannot ignore the science any more. Pesticides and antibiotics are polluting streams across Ireland.”

Ms Wallace cited research published in the journal, Science of the Total Environment, which she said found that Ireland’s water supplies contain hazardous levels of pesticides.

She added: “This contamination is dangerous for wildlife and may increase the development of drug-resistant microbes. Over 100 pesticides and 21 drugs were detected in the 29 waterways analysed in 10 European nations, including Ireland.”

Ms Wallace (pictured below) said it is “utterly shocking” that our public water supplies are showing dangerous levels of pesticides.

And she added: “We must act now, and the solution is simple – we must ban all pesticides that are hazardous. We have a moral responsibility to protect our water from hazardous pollution. There are eco-friendly pesticides available. It is time human health and our environment came before profit.”