Departmental Press Release

Exceedances in pesticides have been detected in drinking water sources in Co. Waterford. Irish Water, working in partnership with the National Pesticides and Drinking Water Action Group (NPDWAG), is appealing to farmers and other users of pesticides to follow the guidelines when applying these substances to their lands.

The efforts to reduce the incidence of these detections are being coordinated by the NPDWAG. This group is chaired by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. All of the key stakeholders are represented in this group and include other Government departments and agencies; local authorities; industry representative bodies; farming organisations; water sector organisations; and amenity sector organisations.

In Co. Waterford, excedances for the pesticide Glyphosate were noted in the Villierstown supply in December.  While there is no threat to public health, it is imperative that users of pesticides are mindful of best practice when spraying their lands.

Glyphosate is used mainly for the control of broad-based leaves and is found in a number of weed killer formulations used by gardeners and growers.

Pat Duggan Irish Water’s Regional Drinking Water Compliance Specialist said: “Irish Water is continuing its extensive investment programme to improve water and wastewater services in Ireland. Providing safe, clean drinking water for all is our first priority.”

Adding to this, Dr Aidan Moody, Chair of NPDWAG commented: “The continued engagement of all stakeholders, working in partnership, is needed to tackle this issue. Users of pesticides should make sure that they are aware of the best practice measures that should be followed to protect water quality.”

A single drop of pesticide can breach the drinking water limit in a small stream for up to 30 kilometres. This clearly highlights the potential risk facing many of Ireland’s drinking water sources.

Drinking water monitoring results for Ireland show that a number of pesticides commonly used such as Bentazone,  MCPP, Clopyralid and Fluroxypyr, are being detected more frequently.

Irish Water, working in partnership with the National Pesticides and Drinking Water Action Group, would like to remind farmers and professional users of pesticides to follow best practice in the application of pesticides on land, particularly near lakes and rivers used as drinking water sources.

The basic steps in reducing pesticide risks are:

•         Choose the right pesticide product
•         Read and follow the product label
•         Determine the right amount to purchase and use
•         Don’t spray if rain or strong wind is forecast in the next 48 hours
•         Make sure you are aware of the location of all nearby water courses
•        Comply with any buffer zone specified on the product label to protect the aquatic environment. Mark out the specified buffer zone from the edge of the river or lake or other water course
•         Never fill a sprayer directly from a water course or carry out mixing, loading or other handling operations beside a water course
•         Avoid spills, stay well back from open drains and rinse empty containers 3 times into the sprayer.
•         Store and dispose of pesticides and their containers properly.

A recently produced video on the correct use of MCPA can be viewed on Irish Water’s YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/xQqtZ7jifUs

Information leaflets on pesticide use are also available to download from the Teagasc website.

ENDS

Notes to editors

The term ‘pesticides’ includes a wide range of chemicals used for the control of unwanted pests (commonly weeds and insects). While the amount of public water schemes with elevated levels of pesticides above the allowed standard is very small in Ireland, there is increasing evidence of pesticides in water sources as a result of run-off from weed control on hard surfaces, gardening, agriculture or forestry. The presence of an individual pesticide at levels exceeding the allowed value tells us that there may have been careless or excessive use of a product in the source catchment or in the vicinity of treated water retaining infrastructure.

The highest incidences of pesticide exceedances encountered in Ireland’s drinking water is MCPA, a commonly used herbicide present in many products used to control thistle, dock and rush.

What risk does this pose and what is the response? 

Pesticides do not pose any immediate risk to health.  Ensuring that pesticides do not enter drinking water supplies requires a strong protection plan for the water source and that the general public is informed of the correct and safe use of pesticides. A national group has been formed to take action to address pesticides and devise and deliver various educational campaigns. This group has members from numerous state bodies and organisations including the EPA, Department of Agriculture, Teagasc, Coillte, Local Authorities and Irish Water.

Details of the key stakeholders that are represented on the National Pesticide and Drinking Water Action Group (NPDWAG) include:

• The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government
• Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Health Service Executive (HSE)
• City and County Manager’s Association (CCMA)
• Irish Water (IW)
• Local Authorities Waters And Communities Office (LAWCO)
• Teagasc
• Irish Farmers Association (IFA)
• Animal and Plant Health Association (APHA)
• Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA)
• Federation of Agrochemical Retail Merchants (FARM)
• National Federation of Group Water Schemes
• Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI)
• Golf Course Superintendents Association of Ireland (GCSAI)
• Association of Landscape Contractors of Ireland (ALCI)
• National Federation of Group Water Schemes

In the case of individual pesticide exceedances Irish Water engages with the relevant statutory authorities with responsibility for protecting the catchment in that area (e.g. Local Authority Environment Sections, EPA catchment units) to investigate the possible cause of the contamination and take any necessary remedial actions.

Teagasc provides useful advice on various treatment options available to farmers and this can be downloaded on www.teagasc.ie

Labour force statistics show job creation rate in South East better than national average under Action Plan for Jobs Programme

Labour force data released this week – compiled by the Central Statistics Office – shows that since the implementation of the regional Action Plan for Jobs (APJ) initiative in Q1 2015, the South East’s job creation rate is running at a slightly better pace than the national average. The CSO data for Q2 2018 reveals that the number of jobs created in the South East has increased by 12.6% since Q1 2015 while the State’s average is 11.9%. This equates to 21,300 jobs created in the region, coming close to the 25k new jobs target set by the Action Plan for Jobs to be achieved by 2020. The unemployment rate is at 7.2%, which is 1.2% outside the State’s figure of 6%. The APJ target for the unemployment rate is to be within 1% of the national average by 2020.

Perhaps the most positive aspect of the labour force survey figures is that the gains achieved by the South East cannot be attributed to outward migration as the labour force has increased by 13,800 people during the time period of Q1 2015 to Q2 2018. The number of people who are unemployed has dropped by a third, from 22,300 to 14,800.
The CSO data shows that the job growth performance of the South East compares favourably to the performance of the other regions in the country. Of the city regions outside of Dublin, the South East recorded the highest growth in the total labour force (7.2%) and equalled the Galway-West region with the highest percentage growth in job creation (12.6%).

Chairman of the South East Action Plan for Jobs, Frank O’Regan, welcomed the positive figures and stated that they are an endorsement of the high level of innovation and collaboration being shown by all the stakeholders involved in driving the economy in the South East. “There is a wealth of economic activity taking place in the region”, Mr O’Regan stated. “In the technology sector we can see infrastructural developments at Arclabs in Waterford, Hatch labs in Gorey, and the new Enniscorthy technology park. This is enhanced by the formation of the Crystal Valley tech cluster and the new South East NDRC accelerator funding programme. In the FDI space we see the IDA recording the largest percentage regional job growth in the South East in 2017 and the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at West Pharma opening in July. By the end of September we will have the application for designation for Technological University from Waterford Institute of Technology and the Institute of Technology Carlow; in early 2019 both the New Ross and Enniscorthy bypasses will open and improve the connectivity within the region in a major way; and we look forward to significant local authority developments at North Quay’s, Waterford, Abbey Quarter, Kilkenny, and Trinity Wharf, Wexford.”

“There are still many challenges for the region to tackle but the figures show that we are moving in the right direction. We need to maintain the positive activity of everyone involved in job creation in the region and work towards building resilience in the economy that will buffer us against any future downturns,” Mr O’Regan concluded.

The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government has published a DRAFT publication ‘Bringing Back Homes – Manual for the reuse of existing buildings’ which has been developed to support and facilitate the reuse of older/ vacant buildings in our towns and cities for residential use.

Why we are launching this consultation?
The manual aims to provide property owners, members of the public, Local Authorities and those involved in the construction industry with clear guidance on how current regulatory requirements apply to common, existing building types. Guidance on how best to facilitate the reuse of these building types is also provided. To enable focused input into the technical aspects of the DRAFT manual, the Department is interested in your views prior to finalisation.

How to get involved? – Make a Submission
The Department invites submissions on the DRAFT manual over the period to Friday 10th August 2018. Submissions should be made on the Template for Submissions only and sent by email buildingstandards@housing.gov.ie Following consideration of submissions the guidelines may be amended.

The Department accepts that this timeframe for public consultation is relatively short. This is due to the need to publish the manual in as concise a timeframe as possible, inclusive of the views of interested stakeholders at this time of very significant housing need.

Attend a Workshop
To facilitate the finalisation of the DRAFT and further engage with stakeholders, the Department also intends to host a workshop on Thursday 2nd August at 11:00 AM in the Custom House. Expressions of interest to attend the workshop should be emailed to buildingstandards@housing.gov.ie  It is not necessary to make a submission in order to attend the workshop. Please note that expression of interest will not guarantee attendance as places are limited.

• For complete documentation and a copy of the Draft Proposal, see this website.