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SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, November 09, 2020

QUESTION NO. 6

QUESTION: Councillor Yvonne Collins

Noting a recent reply by the Council to a request to cease using glyphosate weedkiller, to ask the Chief Executive whether there is a means by which residents can ask for their road not to be sprayed with glyphosate weedkiller, particularly where there are residents with underlying health issues?

REPLY:

Weed control along public roads, footpaths and in roadside margins presents a specific problem due to the nature of the task at hand.  The Council maintains close to 1,000km of roads including main roads, housing estate roads and industrial estate roads.  Labour intensive methods of weed control are not appropriate to this task, such is the volume of work involved.  The Council's road sweeping contractor, Oxigen Environmental, therefore continues to use a glyphosate-based weed killer to deliver the weed control element of their contract. The contractors staff engaged in this work are required to be highly trained in the task, are required to use the appropriate equipment including PPE and are also required to be registered with the Dept of Agriculture as a professional user of pesticides in accordance with the Sustainable Use Directive. The Council meets regularly in relation to the provision of services under this contract and monitors all relevant matters including the weed control element of the contract.

It would therefore not be currently feasible to omit use of glyphosate from all future contracts, though this Council will continue in its efforts to reduce the use of glyphosate in its weed control operations and in keeping with the National Pollinator and National Biodiversity Plans. It is not possible to implement an ad hoc control programme to weed control along public roads, footpaths and roadside margins as this would result in weed growth in areas and a poorly maintained landscape.